Inkan or Hanko?

All our work is custom so it is very easy for us to produce just what our clients want.
We were recently contacted by Grove Martial Arts and requested to make some stamps that were not in our standard range.
What Grove were after was a stamp that could accommodate christian, surname and title but still be relatively small in size.
So it had to be bigger than stamps in our Inkan range and smaller than stamps in our Hanko range. We suggested using a square format as it provides more space and suggested 18 x 18mm as a format.

Above is the graphic design that we provided for approval to Grove Martial Arts for the three stamps.
They were very pleased with the graphics and approved the design proofs for production, the stamps were made up and dispatched with a few days.

Above is a photo of the stamps ready for dispatch.
We have now added this format to our range as it is an ideal transition between a personal Inkan and a dojo or Association Hanko.
Below is a full list of the costings in our range of Martial art stamps.

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

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A Nafudakake in New York

When we get a commission we often supply a few options for our client to consider before production. A block font was eventually selected because it allowed us to match the kanji used for the association title with the katakana used for the the instructors name.

There are usually a number of different ways to represent a foreign name in katakana. We always try and offer advice to a client of the best translation to use.
Our preference is to stick to an existing translation if it is supplied by their association. Secondly we will use a translation they have used in the past, for example on a belt. If required we will of course provide a translation.
Our client could not provide a copy of any of the perspective recipient's dan grade certificates and he did not have a photo which showed clearly kana from a belt.
The nafadakake was being made for an association chief instructor and I had remembered reading in the past that he had commented that even the Japanese in the press had represented his name incorrectly. The pressure was on ... The commission was to be a gift so it was not possible for our client to ask directly.
I searched the WTKO website for a translation, no joy. Eventually it dawned on me, where to find an accurate translation ... "Google" , no not Google Translate, but Google Images. I had recent written an article on my karate club website on what the kana on Japanese grading certificates meant. The layout is similar for most Japanese style organisations. The name of the recipient would appear as the Chief Instructor of the association. I "googled" WTKO dan certificate and an image came up with someones Shodan certificate and a clear image of the chief instructors name in Katakana.

There was another reason why I was particularly proud to be producing a nafudakake for Amos Sensei. About five years ago he had clicked a "like" button, no big deal you may say, well it was for me.
I had just made my first nafudakake for my own club, after not being able to find anyone to make me one.
It had taken me many months of struggling with images, because I was not working in a graphic design package and having many abortive attempts at getting the images onto hardwood.
I wasn't very happy with what I produced, but at quite a superficial level it looked ok.

I put an image on Facebook of my nafudakake, it had ash nafuda in a walnut kake, I wondered if I could try and make them commercially, but the quality at the time was not even close to a commercial product.
Anyway it was just too difficult, the amount of effort that had gone in was not reflected in the output. I was ready to say well, I gave it my best , but that is all I have.
That one click from an instructor thousands of miles away changed everything for me. I can clearly remember telling my wife, Richard Amos "liked" my photo ... Richard Amos ... I just got a blank look, it was no use explaining ....
That one click of silent encouragement was enough for me to spend five hundred hours plus to improve and improve, until I produced a version that in my opinion was of a commercial quality.

Always an honour to produce a piece for a senior instructor.
I wonder if one day I will ever get an opportunity to train at the WTKO Honbu dojo in New York.
I suppose I could have offered to deliver it in person.

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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A Dojo Nafudkake for Walsall Karate

Walsall Karate was established in 1996 and opened a full time dojo a few years ago. They have worked long and hard to create a high quality environment, that would reflect the quality of the club and provide the best opportunity for its members to flourish.

graphic design for Walsall Karate Dojo

With all his building work completed and his club well established in the community Steve Carless Sensei was looking to make further investments in his dojo.
One of his criteria was a nafudakake that could accommodate further growth and development.

The yudansha nafudakake

and there is more ....

Steve wanted to commission a nafudakake for his dan grades, but wanted to explore what he could do for his kyu and mon grades.
As with most clubs, junior grades will come and go and he wanted to recognise the significant achievement that the yudansha had made.
At Sotos Sabisu all our nafuda are made from quality hardwoods, in this case cherry and maple, the kanji and katakana are high resolution images produced in our graphic design package.
Steve had a local resource that could make up pine nafuda and varnish them, to which he planned to add their names in normal text. On promotion to Shodan, the club will have Soto Sabisu produce a hardwood nafuda with kana to match their certificate and this will then be inserted in the yudansha kake.
He also wanted to maximise the space available, so we suggested "stacking" frames one above the other. Steve wanted to try and keep all the framing material as small as possible so it was similar to the Dan grade certificates on the rear wall of the dojo.

Layout of both kake at the dojo entrance.

Rather than "stacking the frames we milled the standard section to accommodate a large rebate above the nafuda and a smaller rebate at the base of the nafuda so they can be removed and re-positioned after gradings. The challenge meant building a kake nearly 3m long and 1.6m high but with tolerances of +/- 0.5mm. What we suggested is that Soto Sabisu produce the kake and the grade nafuda and Walsall Karate produce the student nafuda, ensuring costs were kept at an affordable level.

Walsall karate dojo has over 250 members and requested room for expansion. They supplied the wall dimensions available and we made the kake just under size. The kake can hold just over 350 nafuda so they should be ok for a while.

grade nafuda by Soto Sabisu in Cherry and name nafuda by Walsall karate in pine

I think the end result looks brilliant, a great solution to the challenges that we had discussed. Steve has both kyu and mon grades and seeing as he had some spare space now he wanted t add his ungraded students, so they too felt part of the dojo. There are a couple of transitional grades from mon to kyu and Steve wanted to reflect this as well. We customised the grade nafuda to his dojo's requirements.

graphic design of Walsall's dan, kyu, transitional, mon and Mu nafuda

 Both kake were too large to transport in a single piece so were transported to the dojo and made up on site. If required we can produce plans for the kake to be made locally, this may well be an important factor if considering for export.

Below is our current costings for nafuda:

"Click" to go to - Nafuda section shop page

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Scrolling Nafudakake for Walsall karate dojo

We have recently completed a "Virtual Nafudakake" with a scrolling feature for Walsall karate dojo.
This was in addition to the "actual" nafudakake that was produced for the dojo.
The image was provided as a pdf and jpeg file so their "webmaster" can add it to their wesite.

We can add your logo and include traditional title nafuda. Examples include "daihyo - delegation", "shihan - master", "shidoin - instructors", "shidojoin - assistants" etc.
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.


I have posted below a few photos from the actual nafudakake for comparison.

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, the scrolling virtual nafudakake in the presentation contains 57 nafuda, so 57*£4.95 = £282.15, 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

Changing Nafuda after gradings - Dojo Nafudakake

We are often asked how can we change the position of the nafuda after gradings.
I thought a picture of the nafudakake in section would help.

Above is the general layout of a dojo nafudakake showing the head, mid-rail and cill sections.
I have "shunk" the height so you can see all the sections, but you will notice the nafuda sits in a shallow rebate and the head has a much deeper rebate. This allows for the nafuda to be raised into the head and lowered onto the cill and it will not fall out.

Custom Nanakorobi Yaoki

We recently produced a custom plague as a presentation piece.
Our client liked the look of our standard "Fall Seven times and stand up eight", but wanted it as a gift to celebrate forty years of karate training for a friend.
We were requested to add a name, Sensei  and possibly rank to the plaque.
We always pride ourselves on trying to get a good balance to our work and suggested that we use a katakana translation for the name and kanji for title and rank along with the English script.

Customising standard work is undertaken at an additional charge just to recover any time spent in translation and additional graphic design.

Soto Sabisu sends our congratulations to Phil Owen Sensei and hope you enjoy many more years of training, Osu!

We will keep a limited stock of the standard plaque, 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

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A large Nafudakake in a Japanese dojo

This clip is in Russian and Japanese, but shows a great example of a Japanese Nafudakake, thought it was worth sharing.
Take a look at our "Nafudakake for dojo" section to see similarities and differences in what we have to offer.

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