Huaya#Japan

File:Sino Japanese Friendship and Trade Treaty 13 September 1871.jpg of 1871, showing the marks of general Li Hongzhang (left) and lord Date Munenari (right)]]

Most huaya are constructed from parts of Chinese characters and resemble them to a certain degree. A small number of early marks, mostly used by Buddhist monks, are simply abstract pictures related to the person's identity.

Generally, one or more of the characters from the person's name is used in creating a huaya. Designs are often taken from highly calligraphic, distorted, or alternative forms of a character, as well as merging parts of two characters into a single mark (similar to a monogram). Descendants of the same family or artistic lineage will often have similar-looking marks.

Several styles of huaya have existed throughout history. Early marks from the Tang (618-907) and Song dynasties (960–1279) were more abstract and minimalistic compared to later designs. During the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), marks with a design between two horizontal lines became popular in China, and was adopted later by the Tokugawa clan in Japan.

The oldest surviving record of huaya is in the Book of Northern Qi, the official history of the Northern Qi dynasty (550–577 AD).{{citation | lang=zh | title=北齐书 | trans-title=Book of Northern Qi | author=李百药 | date=November 2020 |isbn= 978-7-5203-7496-5 | publisher=中国社会科学出版社 }} Huaya reached its peak popularity during the Northern Song dynasty (960-1127).{{ cite web | lang=zh | title=日本的"花押"到底是什么? | url=https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/146027372 | date=June 6, 2020 | access-date=June 5, 2021}} After that, its popularity began to decline.

Tang Xuanzong signature (huaya).jpg|Mark of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (685-762)

宋太祖御押 01.svg|Mark of Emperor Taizu of Song (927-976)

宋太宗御押.svg|Mark of Emperor Taizong of Song (939–997)

Song Huizong signature (tian xia yi ren).jpg|Mark of Emperor Huizong of Song (1082-1135)

Hongwu Emperor signature (Kao).jpg|Mark of the Hongwu Emperor (1328-1398)

Chongzhen Emperor signature (huaya).jpg|Mark of the Chongzhen Emperor (1611-1644)

Bada Shanren signature (huaya).jpg|Mark of the painter Bada Shanren (1626–1705)

Li Hongzhang Signature (Kao).png|Mark of general Li Hongzhang (1823-1901)

Huaya first spread to Japan during the Heian period (794-1185), where it is called Kaō.{{citation|script-title=ja:花押のせかい |trans-title=The World of Kaō|author=望月 鶴川 [Kakusen Mochizuki]| date=June 2005 |isbn=978-4-903059-03-7|publisher=朝陽会 [Chōyōkai]}} 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.{{citation|script-title=ja:花押を読む |trans-title=Reading Kaō|author=佐藤 進一 [Satō Shin'ichi]| date=September 2000 |isbn=978-4-582-76367-6|publisher=平凡社 [Heibonsha]}} The reading and identification of individual kaō often requires specialist knowledge; whole books devoted to the topic have been published.{{citation|script-title=ja:中世花押の謎を解く―足利将軍家とその花押 |trans-title=Cracking the Riddle of Kaō from the Middle Ages: The Ashikaga Shogunate and their Kaō|publisher=山川出版社 [Yamakawa Shuppansha]|author=上島 有 [Tamotsu Kamishima]|isbn=978-4-634-52330-2|id={{JPNO|20717189}}| date=December 2004 }}

Kaō of Taira no Tadamori.svg|Mark of Taira no Tadamori (1096–1153)

Kaō of Ashikaga Takauji.svg|Mark of shogun Ashikaga Takauji (1305-1358)

後花園天皇花押.png|Mark of Emperor Go-Hanazono (1418-1471)

Kaō of Tokugawa Ieyasu.svg|Mark of shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616)

Hideki Tojo signature.svg|Mark of prime minister Hideki Tojo (1884-1948)

Joint letter of Five Elders (of Toyotomi).jpg|Marks of members of the Council of Five Elders

Huaya spread to Vietnam after Vietnamese independence from China. It was referred to as {{langr|vi|hoa áp}}. It was widely used during the Lê dynasty with both the Nguyễn and Trịnh lords using their own {{langr|vi|hoa áp}}.{{Cite web |last=Võ |first=Vinh Quang |last2=Hồ |first2=Xuân Thiên |last3=Hồ |first3=Xuân Diên |date=29 June 2018 |title=Họ Hồ làng Nguyệt Biều - Hương Cần và dấu ấn của Đức Xuyên tử Hồ Quang Đại với lịch sử xã hội xứ Thần Kinh |url=http://tapchisonghuong.com.vn/tin-tuc/p2/c15/n26823/Ho-Ho-lang-Nguyet-Bieu-Huong-Can-va-dau-an-cua-Duc-Xuyen-tu-Ho-Quang-Dai-voi-lich-su-xa-hoi-xu-Than-Kinh.html |access-date=29 October 2024 |website=Tạp chí Sông Hương}} These {{langr|vi|hoa áp}} are seen in letters to Japan and other nations.

File:Nguyen Letter Seal 示.svg|The {{langr|vi|hoa áp}} on a 1635 letter to Japan.

File:Nguyen Letter Seal 書2.svg|The {{langr|vi|hoa áp}} on a 1684 letter to Japan.

File:Nguyen Letter Seal 曉示.svg|This {{langr|vi|hoa áp}} "曉示 hiểu thị" is from a 1606 letter by Nguyễn Hoàng 阮潢 to Tokugawa Ieyasu 徳川家康.

File:阮潢 letter to 源家康.jpg|Mark of Nguyễn Hoàng (阮潢; 1525-1613) seen on a copy of a letter from Japan.

File:Letter by Minister Phúc Nghĩa Hầu of Cochinchina to the King of Japan.jpg|A {{langr|vi|hoa áp}} seen on a letter from Phúc Nghĩa Hầu (福義侯) to the “King of Japan”.

• Tughra, stylised Arabic signatures used by Ottoman sultans
• Khelrtva, stylised Georgian calligraphic signatures
• Monogram
• Seals in the Sinosphere
• Signature

{{Reflist|2}}

{{commonscat|Kaō}}

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Category:Culture of Japan

Category:Japanese calligraphy

Category:Authentication methods

Category:Identity documents

Category:Signature