Kaō

Kaō
Kaō of Toyotomi Hideyoshi
Chinese name
Chinese	花押
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin huāyā
Japanese name
Kanji	花押
Transcriptions Romanization Kaō
Korean name
Hangul	화압
Hanja	花押
Transcriptions Revised Romanization Hwaap McCune–Reischauer Hwaap

Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin	huāyā

Transcriptions
Romanization	Kaō

Transcriptions
Revised Romanization	Hwaap
McCune–Reischauer	Hwaap

A kaō or huāyā is a stylized signature or a mark used in east Asia in place of a true signature.

Kaō first appeared in China during the Tang Dynasty, and began to be used in Japan during the Heian period. Though their use became far less widespread after the Edo period, they continue to be used even by some contemporary politicians and other famous people. The reading and identification of individual kaō often requires specialist knowledge; whole books devoted to the topic have been published.

Often used by Japanese swordsmith on sword tang (nakago).

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Wikipedia