Stamp “Inaru History Museum”

The origin of seals dates back to more than 7000 BC and is said to have originated in Mesopotamia.
In addition, the ``stamp'' system was introduced not from China but from the West, and there are about 40 references to the system of registered seals and personal seals in the Old Testament.
It was introduced to Japan about 2,300 years ago (during China's Later Han Dynasty), when the paper we use today was invented and the custom of stamping books emerged, and it has continued to be passed on to Japan to this day. One that is familiar to everyone is the famous gold seal (King of Han Wanu) that was sent to the Wanu country (Japan) during the era of Emperor Guangwu of the Later Han Dynasty. However, the culture of HANKO did not spread from the beginning, and was only a culture of a few people, and ordinary people were not even able to have HANKO.

In the Heian period, ink was stamped on the palm of the hand as a ``handprint'', and this system was used until the Edo period.
Later, in the late Heian period, kao (written stamps) appeared on military commanders' petitions, petitions, and wills.
The character ``oshi'' means to sign, and in other words, it means ``something beautifully signed.''
In the Edo period, kao was called ``han,'' and after private seals came into use, there is a theory that kao came to be called ``han'' and han (seal) was called han to differentiate them. It has been.
Since ancient times, the means to prove the content of a text have been autographs, kasho stamps, and seals, but when they were actually created, they were written by a scribbling agent or a scribe, but as the technique of forging handwriting developed, the handwriting began to be distorted. Kao began to be used as a unique sign, and was often seen among the samurai class in one country and one castle, and reached its peak during the Kamakura to Muromachi periods.

It became commonly used on October 1, 1896, when the new Meiji government issued the Daijokan Proclamation: ``The person himself or herself should write it and affix a registered seal. You may have someone write for you, but you must have the person's official seal affixed.''The seal came to be used as a symbol of citizenship, as it is today.
To commemorate this, October 1st of each year is designated as "Seal Anniversary."