A whole new batch of Pokémon can now be part of your legal signature in Japan with Gen III hanko

”Yes, I accept this contract. Also, I love Mudkip.”

Your signature is more than just your name. It’s a written declaration of your identity, representing a binding covenant and delivered with a personalized flourish.

So why shouldn’t that flourish be a Pokémon?

That’s what the designer at Hankos think. Hankos specializes in, well, hanko, also called inkan, the stamp-like personal seals you use in Japan to sign for deliveries, apply for bank loans, and do all sorts of other legal document stuff. As part of its continuing collaboration with the Pokémon anime/video game franchise, Hankos has just begun taking orders for hanko featuring the entire roster of Generation III Pokémon, the species which inhabit the Hoenn region that gamers first visited in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire.

To create your very own custom-made seal, you first select which of the 135 Hoenn Pokémon you’d like to serve as your legal representative. Next, you pick between one of three fonts to be used to render your name in up to three kanji characters, five phonetic kana, or six letters from the English/Latin alphabet, with the final design encompassed within a circular framing line.

▼ Torchic paired with “Sato,” Japan’s most common family name.

There’s naturally going to be high demand for Gen III starters Treecko, Torchic, and Mudkip…

…but with the full list of Hoenn Pocket Monsters available, you could also opt for any of the more powerful especies, up to and including Legendary Pokémon Groudon, Kyogre, and Rayquaza.

Three types of material are available. The least expensive, the 2,200-yen (US$21) self-inking type, is primarily to be used for package deliveries. Meanwhile, at 5,200 yen, the carved wood (pictured earlier in this article) or water buffalo hanko require a separate ink pad, but can be registered and used as your legal signature at major nationwide banks Sumitomo Mitsui, Mizuho, Mitsubishi UFJ, Risona, Yucho, Ikeda Senshu, and Aeon.

▼ Self-inking type (left) and water buffalo horn (right)

▼ The remaining designs

Orders can be placed online directly with Hankos (here) or through Rakuten (here). Oh, and if you’re a truly old-school Pokémon fan, you’ll be happy to know that Hankos also makes hanko with the Gen I and II species too.

Source: PR Times
Images: Hankos
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