Shop

The Shop page has been divided into 6 sections.

At the bottom of the individual sections is a link to that sections shop page, which also includes links back to individual products.

We hope this makes it a little easier to navigate our site and find what you are looking for.

Nafuda Section
Nafuda for Individuals
Nafuda for Dojo
Modular curved Nafuda
Virtual Nafuda
Mutal Love Nafuda
"Click" to go to - Nafuda section shop page

Kun and Mokuroku Section
Dojokun Nafuda
Dojokun Plaque
Nijukun Plaques
Karate kata Mokuroku
Custom Mokuroku
"Click" to go to - Kun and Mokuroku section shop page

Plaques and Name board Section
Kanban - Dojo Nameboards
Taekwondo Plaques
The Shotokan Tiger
7 Virtues of Bushido
7 times down 8 times up Plaques
Yojijukugo plaques
Custom plaques
"Click" to go to - Plaques and Name Board section shop page

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

Certificates Section
A4 - Kyu certificates
A3 - Dan Certificates
A3 - Senior Dan Certificates
A3 - Lifetime Achievement Certificate
A4 - Student of Month / Year Certificate
Participation Certificates
"Click" to go to - Certificates section shop page

Design Section
Logo Design
Belt Label Design
Facebook Banners
"Click" to go to - Design section shop page

There is no e-commerce shop for a good reason, most of what we do are one-off commissions.

We are likely to exchange quite a few E Mails while we develop your project together.
Soto Sabisu will produce a draft and once approved by you, we will send you a Pro-forma Invoice.

To keep our costs as low as possible our preferred payment method is by BACS, however we will accept credit card payments via Pay Pal subject to a transaction premium of 5%.

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.

Certificate Hanko

We have recently completed three Certificate Hanko for shipping to America. The Hanko are 35mm * 35mm the size recommended for a certificate stamp.
It was our pleasure to work with Richard Bennett Shihan to produce these stamps for Bennett's Karate in Colorado.

 

As is common with commissions there were quite a few E Mails back and forward across the pond until the final designs were complete.
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

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.

Christmas comes early at WTKO Shogai karate dojo

We were frilled when we had a recent inquiry from the members of WTKO Shogai. They wanted to commission a special gift for their Sensei, Simon Bligh. The outline draft from the club was for a  木製 の 銘板,   mokusei no meiban  which translates to wooden plaque.
We were asked to try and replicate the clubs moto " Karate for everyone and for all your life" and also to incorporate the name of the club.
A fair bit of correspondence went back and forth with Jenny the club secretary at all stages of the design and translation.

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 don't think any will be a direct translation for Shogai's motto.
Accuracy of translation and more important meaning is paramount, so we usually ask a client to either provide or confirm the translation before proceeding. The issue Jenny had was that this was to be a special gift and the surprise element was important.
The WTKO group has been a regular returning customer, so we arranged for external authentication on the clubs behalf.
The Kanji 皆 = minna meaning everyone and  生 = shogai meaning lifetime were selected, so the final text reads - "Shogai karate dojo - karate for everyone - karate for lifetime" the WTKO GB Hanko was also added to the mokusei no meiban as Simon Sensei holds a key role in the organisation.

It was a great honour to attend WTKO Shogai for the presentation and to witness the club express their thanks to their instructor.

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.

The 7 virtues of Bushido

The 7 virtues or principles that the Samurai strove to achieve at the highest levels would have enabled them to become the consummate diplomat.

These principles are:
Gi - Righteousness – rightness or practice; exact conformity to truth, or to the rules prescribed for moral conduct, either by divine or human laws; (moral) uprightness, integrity; honesty; morality; straightness.
Yu - Courage – the quality of a confident character not to be afraid or intimidated easily but without being incautious or inconsiderate; the ability to do things which one finds frightening; …”Courage is not the absence of fear. It is acting in spite of it.” ~ Mark Twain
Jin - Benevolence – disposition to do good; charitable kindness; an altruistic gift or act.
Rei - Respect – an attitude of consideration or high regard; good opinion, honour, or admiration; polite greetings, often offered as condolences after a death.
Makoto - Honesty – the act, quality, or condition of being honest; to be truthful.
Meiyo - Honour – an objectification of praiseworthiness, respect (for example: something that represents praiseworthiness, respect).
Chugi - Loyalty – unswerving in allegiance; faithful in allegiance to one’s lawful sovereign or government; faithful to a private person to whom fidelity is due; faithful to a cause, ideal, custom, institution, or product; the state of being loyal; fidelity.

We will keep a limited stock without the additional Hanko, specials can be made to order with approximately a 2 to 3 week delivery dependent on workload 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.

Senior SKIF Instructor receives a Nafudakake

In October 2015 we had an inquiry for a Nafudakake. The contact came after a recommendation from a 3rd party to contact us to see if we could help out. Our client knew they wanted a special presentation piece, but was unsure what they wanted to include in the design. Oh, and they wanted it for a specific date approx 4 weeks from the inquiry. This is a little quicker than our normal 4 to 6 weeks for delivery that we normally quote, however we were able to swap a few things round and prioritise the commission. Our client was able to provide an image of the SKIF logo and photos of a grading certificate and belt.
We like to use an existing translation if possible, but in this case as is common that people have a few slight variations to how their name is presented in katakana. The Dan grade certificate used the full Christian name, whereas the belt used the shortened version, there were also two different representations of the surname.  At this point in the design we will explain the differences and make a recommendation to our client. We traced the logo into our graphic design package for inclusion in the nafudakake and used the kanji at the base of the logo on next two nafuda. Maple has been used for the nafuda, this gives a strong contrasting background to both the logo and the kana, they were wrapped in a black kake. Every commission is different, but personally I like the balance of a five nafuda piece. 

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

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.