Walsall Karate Dojo celebrate 20th Anniversary

We were recently contacted by the Yudansha of Walsall Karate Dojo and asked if we could produce a plaque to celebrate the clubs 20th Anniversary.
We worked with them and produced a couple of designs.

The photo shows the plaque just before dispatch. The plaque was larger than most of our commissions (600 x 400mm) and needed to be in a single piece rather than in nafuda sections. We used a 12mm mdf board with a maple veneer and balancer, the board was sanded to 320 grade and a couple of coats of sanding sealer applied before it was french polished and the graphics applied.
It has taken a couple of weeks, very happy with the end result.

If you have a project in mind just drop us an E Mail to sotosabisu@btinternet.com with a brief outline and we will help you work up the design and provide you a quotation. Current costings can be found in the relevant shop page please click on the button below to view.

"Click" to go to - Plaques and Name Board section shop page

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The AKA celebrate Williams Sensei's promotion to Godan

We were recently commissioned to produce a Nafudakake to celebrate many years of dedication to Karate and promotion to Godan of Keith Williams Sensei from the Applied Karate Association.

The client selected a maple hardwood for the nafuda which forms a striking contrast to our standard black frame. This is proving to be the most popular combination giving high definition to both text and logos.
The logo provided was not in a format that could be loaded directly into our graphic design package and required some re-modelling and complete insertion of both kanji and English text. We managed to achieve a very high quality reproduction in a vector format which can now be increased to any size without loosing quality or pixelating.

Graphic design for the AKA Nafuda

Detailed design of the re-worked AKA logo

Soto Sabisu send our congratulations to Williams Sensei and happy New Year to all at the AKA, Osu!

If you are thinking about commissioning a nafudanake please remember that our nafudakake are all custom made and take 4 to 6 weeks to produce. If you would like to make an inquiry just send an E mail to sotosabisu@btinternet.com with some outline details of your requirements. Current costings can be found in the relevant shop page please click on the button below to view.

"Click" to go to - Nafuda section shop page

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Virtual Nafudakake - Leeds Shotokan Elite Karate

We have recently completed a "Virtual Nafudakake" for Leeds Shotokan Elite Karate.

The club provided us with the names and grades and we undertook the translation into Katakana and Kanji. The image was sent to the club as a pdf and jpeg file in both low and high resolution so their "webmaster" can add it to their website.

We also provided the club with support developing their logo which was also incorporated into the design. If there is only minor graphic design from a High Resolution image that you provide there is no additional charge. If we have to build your logo from scratch a small charge will apply to cover our additional time.

You can choose from our "Block" or "Brush" font and add the name of your instructor / members. We can use an existing translation from a dan grade certificate or provide a translation for you.

The cost of a virtual nafudakake is only £4.95 per nafuda and when new members join just send us their details and we will update your nafudakake for just the cost of the new nafuda.
After gradings you will want to keep your Virtual nafudakake up to date, E Mail Soto Sabisu the details and we will get them changed and E Mail back your update "Virtual Nafudakake".

As an example, this virtual nafudakake contains 9 nafuda, so 9*£4.95 = £44.55,
If you order a virtual nafudakake at the same time as ordering an "actual" nafudakake we will apply a 50% discount to the virtual version.

Virtual Nafudakake
Cost per Nafuda	£4.95
Virtual Nafudakake Updates
Up to 15 changes in grade	£4.95
Unlimited changes in grade	£9.95

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Oval Inkan

We were recently asked to produce an Inkan with both Christian and Surname.
This would not be a normal Japanese format but we are able to meet most custom requests from clients.
The names were translated into Katakana and the graphic design for the stamp was developed.
The design did not fit well into either a round or square format so we suggested to our client that they consider a traditional oval format and supplied a proof for their consideration.

Graphic design proof

Completed Inkan and test stamp prior to dispatch

We have added the Oval Inkan to our range (full details below)
The 16 x 11mm format allows for a few more kana to fit in a two column layout.
The price detailed allows for up to 12 kana but a couple more could be added at an additional £1.50 per kana if required.

If you would like to place an order for an Inkan or Hanko follow the links at the base of the table above to view more examples. Consider your options on size and design etc and then just drop us an E Mail to sotosabisu@btinternet.com with your requirements and we will work up a graphic design for you. Current costings can be found in the relevant shop page please click on the button below to view.

"Click" to go to - Hanko and Inkan section shop page

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The benefits of Brexit

There is always a positive, you just have to look for it.

Here in England we are suffering for an extremely poor currency exchange rate at the moment.
Post our Brexit vote I purchased a dogi from Hirota in Japan and paid about twenty percent more than what I would normally expect to pay. However poor buying power for me may mean excellent purchasing power for you if you are outside the UK with a strong currency.

We have just shipped a commission out to the US where our client benefited greatly from the current exchange rate.

The Nafudakake was a little different from the majority of commissions.

Our client wanted to incorporate the Shotokan tiger his name and the four international associations that he was a member of. He also wanted to use just kana on the nafuda, which is something we regularly do for Japanese and high ranking recipients.

The four groups our client was a member of were The International Shotokan Ryu Karate-do Shihankai, The World Japan Karate-do Association, The Karate of Japan Federation International and The International Society of Okinawan and Japanese Karate-do.

Our Nafudakake are all custom made and take 4 to 6 weeks to produce. 

The example above was £210+ £35 shipping to the US. Our client used transfer wise with a rate of 1 USD = 0.7712 GBP with a small fee of $3.18..... Courtesy of the benefits of Brexit here in England.

If you would like to make an inquiry just send an E mail to sotosabisu@btinternet.com with some outline details of your requirements. Current costings can be found in the relevant shop page please click on the button below to view.

"Click" to go to - Nafuda section shop page

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Custom Hanko for Rengokai karate

We were recently approached by Rengokai karate to produce some custom Hanko.
They asked for a non standard size 32 x 32mm.
We are happy to accommodate custom sizes and because it was a multiple order we undertook the custom set up free of charge.

The Hanko were to have association name followed by the examiners christian and surnames.
This is really a mix of a organisation and personal stamp which you would not normally find in Japan, but we have the flexibility to produce whatever you want.

We wanted to maximise the "fill" on the Hanko and keep uniform sizing across the six hanko requested.
We selected 28pt font for the association and 16pt for the names and the graphic design was sent for approval.

After approval the Hanko were made up and tested prior to dispatch.

From enquiry to dispatch was approx 7 days, a little quicker than we quote, but it does depend on workload going through the shop. Full details of our range of Inkan and Hanko can be found below, if you have a project in mind, just drop us a E Mail to sotosabisu@btinternet.com 

Current costings can be found in the relevant shop page please click on the button below to view.

"Click" to go to - Hanko and Inkan section shop page

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If you are accessing this site on your phone you may wish to view the "Web version" and access the menu in the side-bar to navigate. Just scroll down for the link.

Yojijukugo

Do you ever find yourself in a situation where you can not seem to find the right words to express what you are feeling, or that words do not seem to do justice to the depth of feeling ......

Recently when words failed me I took a few hours out to make a 木製 の 銘板,  mokusei no meiban  which translates to wooden plaque.
I selected a Yojijukugo 四字熟語 - 一刻千金 Ikkoku senkin, which means every moment is precious and added a few words underneath.

Typically in Japan a motto or saying may be represented as a four character ideogram called a Yojijukugo 四字熟語 these can be either idiomatic or non-idiomatic e.g. the kanji could directly represent the meaning of the saying or bear no relationship at all.
So a direct translation word for word would be pretty meaningless, and although there are over 20,000 Yojijukugo I have select a few and put them in a table below and also made a link to and extensive selection to a few thousand others.

Kanji	Pronunciation	Meaning
以心伝心	Ishin denshin	Heart-to-heart communication To have a tacit understanding
一期一会	Ichigo ichie	Meeting only once in a lifetime Every encounter is treasures, because there may be no reunion
一騎当千	Ikki tousen	To have capability to be equal to 1000 persons
一刻千金	Ikkoku senkin	Every moment is precious
一生懸命	Isshou kenmei	All one's might One's whole heart
一心同体	Isshin doutai	One flesh / to be one body and soul
一世風靡	Issei fuubi	To attract people's mind To dominate the world and have a lot of followers
花鳥風月	Kachou fugetsu	The beauties of nature such as flowers, birds, wind, and moon
完全無欠	Kanzen muketsu	Absolute perfection / impeccability
奇想天外	Kisou tengai	Out-of-this-world Fantastic things which cannot be expected at all
堅忍不抜	Kennin fubatsu	to endure of firm volition and be not perturbed by anything Fortitude
行雲流水	Kouun ryusui	The free heart without tenacity of purpose Takeing things as they are
山紫水明	Sanshi suimei	Outstanding natural beauty
色即是空	Shikisoku zeku	All are phenomena although everything is equipped with various shapes. There is no invariable eternity substance and essence is the empty. (Teaching of Buddhism)
順風満帆	Junpu manpan	Smooth sailing Everything is going well
自由奔放	Jiyu honpou	Freewheeling
純真無垢	Junshin muku	To be pure and innocent
森羅万象	Shinra banshou	All the things which exist in the universe All of creation
誠心誠意	Seishin seii	Wholeheartedly
大器晩成	Taiki bansei	Great talents mature late
天真爛漫	Tenshin ranman	Simple, naive and innocent
独立自尊	Dokuritsu jison	To be independent with self-respect
波瀾万丈	Haran banjou	Many vicissitudes Stormy
百戦錬磨	Hyakusen renma	To have gained many experiences
風光明媚	Fuukou meibi	To be beautiful view To be scenic
不言実行	Fugen jikkou	To practice before words
粉骨砕身	Funkotsu saishin	To try hard at the sacrifice of self
無念無想	Munen musou	To banish all other thoughts from one's mind To be free from all distracting thoughts
無我夢中	Muga muchu	Ecstasy / to forget self and be devoted to something
明鏡止水	Meikyou shisui	Mind as serene as a polished mirror

Click on the button below to review the extensive selection of Yojijukugo  page

Yojijukugo List

If you would like to order a 木製 の 銘板 - mokusei no meiban - to wooden plaque.
1. Select a Yojijukugo from the table or link above
2. E Mail - sotosabisu@btinternet.com with the details and any custom text that you would like to add and a delivery address.
3. We will E mail you a pro-forma invoice
4. Once payment is received your plaque should be with you in approx 2 to 3 weeks depending on volumes going through the shop.

Current costings can be found in the relevant shop page please click on the button below to view.

"Click" to go to - Plaques and Name Board section shop page

Top Tip

If you are accessing this site on your phone you may wish to view the "Web version" and access the menu in the side-bar to navigate. Just scroll down for the link.