Long-established seal store in Oimachi, established 103 years ago, Cumulative orders for stamps from foreign customers exceed 2,000

Bunfukudo Inbo (Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo), a long-established stamp specialty store established in 1921, has recently received a cumulative total of 2,000 orders for stamps from foreign customers. To commemorate this milestone, the company has also opened an online gallery in both Japanese and English versions.

The store's speedy production service, whereby stamps can be completed in as little as 30 to 60 minutes and received on the same day as the order, has long been used by many foreign residents, but in recent years, in addition, orders from foreign tourists have increased rapidly.

In particular, since the spring of 2023, when restrictions on the entry of foreign tourists were greatly eased, the number of foreign tourists visiting the store in Oimachi, Tokyo, has exceeded that before the Corona disaster. Many photos of happy foreign customers holding their finished stamps are displayed in the store.

Photo of smiling foreign customers #1

Stamps engraved with Chinese characters and alphabets are popular

A popular product among foreign tourists is the "dual hanko" that the store began accepting orders for in 2018. Its main feature is that it is engraved with both Chinese characters and alphabets.

Dual Hanko Japanese version URL https://dual-hanko.jp/

Dual Hanko English version URL https://dual-hanko.jp/e-top.html

Mr. Matsuzaki, the store's third-generation owner, explains the secret behind the popularity of "Dual Hanko. People who cannot read Japanese have no idea what is engraved on a hanko that only has kanji and katakana characters. But with the alphabet engraved on the hanko, even foreigners can tell at a glance whose hanko it is.

2,000 stamp orders from foreigners

■Trend in Chinese characters chosen

When foreign customers order a "dual hanko" at the store, they select their favorite kanji while enjoying themselves by referring to the store's special file that lists the sounds and meanings of kanji characters.

Having dealt with several hundred foreign tourists, Mr. Matsuzaki says that there is a trend in the kanji they prefer. In most cases, they choose kanji that express good verbs and adjectives, such as "ji," "ei," "ri," and "shin. In addition, I recommend combining kanji that have some kind of story as a whole as much as possible. For example, for the name Jeannie, it is "慈仁". The combination of these two characters has a wonderful meaning of 'benevolence and compassion.

Dual Stamp Gallery Opens

In addition to foreign tourists, the "Dual Hanko" brand has received numerous orders from Japanese customers and companies from all over Japan through the store's online store. Many of these orders are for the following needs

Souvenirs for foreigners visiting Japan for business or training.

Souvenirs for foreign business partners on overseas business trips

Souvenirs for host families of students studying abroad

When ordering online, you can leave the selection of the kanji to the store, but many Japanese customers prefer to choose the kanji themselves since it is a gift for a loved one.

To commemorate the fact that the store has received a total of over 2,000 stamp orders from foreigners, it has opened a gallery displaying approximately 700 examples of "dual stamps" along with the English meanings of the kanji used.

URL of the Japanese version of the gallery: https://dual-hanko.jp/gallery-j.html

The English version of the gallery URL: https://dual-hanko.jp/gallery-e.html

Mr. Matsuzaki says of the gallery, "I hope it will be a useful reference not only for foreigners who are interested in expressing their names in kanji, but also for Japanese customers who would like to give a stamp to a foreign friend, acquaintance, or client.

Gallery with Kanji explanation

Dual Stamps" can be completed in as little as 60 minutes per stamp

Dual Hanko" are available in two types, round and square, in standard size (18 mm) and large size (21 mm), and in a wide range of materials, including East Asian redwood, Japanese boxwood, and eco-friendly materials made from compressed maple and birch.

Prices vary depending on the size and material, but round-shaped items start at 5,500 yen (including tax) and square-shaped items start at 6,050 yen (including tax). The round shape can hold up to 7 letters of the alphabet, while the square shape can hold up to 12 letters of the alphabet. Both the round and rectangular shapes come with a cloth pouch with a Japanese design woven into it.

The production time depends on the number of orders received, but basically each item takes about 60 minutes to complete. Even if there are many orders, the store will deliver directly to the customer's hotel if it is in Tokyo. The foreign tourists have a fixed schedule, so prompt production is a must," said Mr. Kato. It is faster to deliver to the hotel by ourselves rather than through a shipping company, and that is part of our service," says Matsuzaki proudly.

■First Kanji Experience in Tokyo

The store's products for tourists visiting Japan are not limited to dual hanko. Since last summer, the store has also been holding an event titled "Your First Kanji Experience in Tokyo.

Foreign visitors are asked to choose a kanji character of their choice and write it with a brush pen while viewing a stroke order application. After practicing several times, the customer writes the actual kanji on a special piece of paper. The store then inverts the writing into black and white and engraves it into an 18 mm square stamp in about 15 minutes, and then writes the meaning of the kanji, the author's name, and the date under the kanji.

Upon seeing the framed piece of artwork, a foreign visitor commented, "It's so cool that the first kanji I ever wrote with a brush and pen became a work of art with a stamp, and it will be a lifetime memory.

The event requires reservations via a dedicated form, takes about 60 minutes, and costs 11,000 yen (tax included). The completed work will be posted in a gallery on the store's website.

Kanji Trial Japanese version URL https://dual-hanko.jp/kanji-j.html

Kanji Experience English URL: https://dual-hanko.jp/kanji.html

The first Kanji experience in Tokyo1

Three-color commemorative stamps are also popular

Do you collect Japanese commemorative stamps?"

Mr. Matsuzaki always asks foreign tourists who visit his store, "Do you collect commemorative stamps of Japan? Foreigners who do not have the custom of stamping are very interested in Japanese stamps such as red seals. In fact, many visitors to Japan carry stamp books with them and enjoy stamping tourist attractions and train stations as commemorative stamps. Some foreign tourists even ask for a commemorative stamp to be stamped on their receipts from izakaya (Japanese-style pubs) and ramen noodle stores, which are quite ordinary in the eyes of Japanese people.

In response, the store developed and commercialized a unique three-color stamp set called "Hanko Japonisme" as a stamp specialty store that also handles stamps. By placing each stamp along the left corner of the included L-shaped guide ruler, a beautiful, colorful three-color stamp impression is created.

The three-color stamp set, which simplifies the traditional Japanese art of woodblock printing by layering colors to complete a picture, comes in 10 patterns with designs of ninja, samurai, women in kimonos, and other Japanese figures. In addition, by including the name of the store on some of the stamps, they make very memorable souvenir stamps for foreign tourists.

The store has prepared two types of stamps with the name of the store for foreign customers to try, and the service has been very popular, with customers saying, "I have never seen such beautiful stamps with multiple colors.

I want people to become familiar with Japan's unique stamping culture through the casual stamping of many commemorative stamps during their stay in Japan," said Mr. Matsuzaki, who also offers free stamp books to foreign visitors who do not have their own stamp books.

The three-color stamp set "Hanko Japonisme" can also be custom-ordered to include the name of the hotel or facility, and two hotels in Tokyo have already installed them as commemorative stamps for their guests.

Two types of 3-color commemorative stamps

■Saved by foreign guests

The Corona Disaster of 2020 triggered the "de-hanko" and "office DX (digital transformation)" trends, which have caused a major drop in domestic demand for stamps. We, too, had been receiving stable monthly orders for stamps from several companies over the years, but in the past two years, those orders had dropped to almost zero, and at one point, we were in such a bad situation that we had to seriously consider going out of business," recalls Mr. Matsuzaki.

Ironically, it was our foreign customers, who in their own countries do not need stamps in their daily lives, who saved us from that crisis. Today, more than 70% of our orders come from foreign customers, both visiting and residing in Japan.

Mr. Matsuzaki concludes. We also offer a fun surprise at the end of the service to foreign tourists who take time out of their busy schedules to come to our store to order stamps. Everyone is delighted to leave with a photo or video of their visit. We would be very happy if you could add the purchase of a stamp at our store and a small experience of Japanese culture to your memorable experience.

The store's hospitality, which goes beyond simply selling stamps, has been highly praised by foreign customers via word-of-mouth on Google, and this has led to new foreign tourists coming to the store.

Outline of the store

Store name: Hanko Land Tokyo

Location ： 5-7-12 Higashioi, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 140-0011

Phone: 03-3472-5171

Nearest station : 3-minute walk from Oimachi Station on JR Keihin-Tohoku Line, Rinkai Line, and Tokyu Oimachi Line.

Online site】 【Online site

Dual Hanko Online Shop ： https://dualhanko.easy-myshop.jp/

Bumfukudo Inbo official site: https://bunbukudo.jp/

Official site of Hanko Land Tokyo ： https://hankoland.com/

Hanko Japonisme online site ： https://hankojaponism.jp/

Dual Hanko is a registered trademark of Bunpukudo Jimbo Co.

HANKO JAPONISM is a registered trademark of Bunpukudo Jimbo Co.

The design of Dual Hanko is registered as a design by Bunpukudo Inbo Ltd.