99% Invisible Hanko: How Japanese got their family names
Posted: Mon Jul 26, 2021 1:31 pm
https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/hanko/
So here's something I didn't know. Apparently a lot of common people didn't register a family name until the Meiji Period. It's weird to think that before then there wasn't a system for common people to establish their families and stuff. Of course, this also lead to Japanese needing hanko for everyday things
Also they talk about how people need to sign with their hanko (the stamp) in person, which is nuts during a pandemic
Edit:
OMG: THe post episode story is about how ivory hanko took off in the 70s and 80s and led to 260,000 elephants being killed for that purpose. Japan was apparently the biggest importer of ivory and its loose ivory regulations are a problem even today. Gross
So here's something I didn't know. Apparently a lot of common people didn't register a family name until the Meiji Period. It's weird to think that before then there wasn't a system for common people to establish their families and stuff. Of course, this also lead to Japanese needing hanko for everyday things
Also they talk about how people need to sign with their hanko (the stamp) in person, which is nuts during a pandemic
Edit:
OMG: THe post episode story is about how ivory hanko took off in the 70s and 80s and led to 260,000 elephants being killed for that purpose. Japan was apparently the biggest importer of ivory and its loose ivory regulations are a problem even today. Gross