Huaya

Huaya ("flower seal"; Chinese: 花押; pinyin: Huā Yā; Korean: 화압, romanized: Hwaap; Japanese: 花押, romanized: Kaō) are stylized signatures or marks used in East Asian cultures in place of a true signature. Originating from China, the huaya was historically used by prominent figures such as government officials, monks, artists, and craftsmen. The use of stamp seals gradually replaced the huaya, though they are still used occasionally in modern times by important people.

Huaya
Kaō of lord Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-1598)
Chinese name
Chinese	花押
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin huāyā
Japanese name
Kanji	花押
Kana	かおう
Transcriptions Romanization Kaō
Korean name
Hangul	화압
Hanja	花押
Transcriptions Revised Romanization Hwaap McCune–Reischauer Hwaap

Design

The Sino-Japanese Friendship and Trade Treaty 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.

History

China

The oldest surviving record of huaya is in the Book of Northern Qi, the official history of the Northern Qi dynasty (550–577 AD).^[1] Huaya reached its peak popularity during the Northern Song dynasty (960-1127).^[2] After that, its popularity began to decline.

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  Mark of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (685-762)
• 
  Mark of Emperor Taizu of Song (927-976)
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  Mark of Emperor Taizong of Song (939–997)
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  Mark of Emperor Huizong of Song (1082-1135)
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  Mark of the Hongwu Emperor (1328-1398)
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  Mark of the Chongzhen Emperor (1611-1644)
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  Mark of the painter Bada Shanren (1626–1705)
• 
  Mark of general Li Hongzhang (1823-1901)

Japan

Huaya first spread to Japan during the Heian period (794-1185), where it is called Kaō.^[3] 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.^[4] The reading and identification of individual kaō often requires specialist knowledge; whole books devoted to the topic have been published.^[5]

• 
  Mark of Taira no Tadamori (1096–1153)
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  Mark of shogun Ashikaga Takauji (1305-1358)
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  Mark of Emperor Go-Hanazono (1418-1471)
• 
  Mark of shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616)
• 
  Mark of prime minister Hideki Tojo (1884-1948)
• 
  Marks of members of the Council of Five Elders

See also

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

References

1. 李百药 (November 2020), 北齐书 [Book of Northern Qi] (in Chinese), 中国社会科学出版社, ISBN 978-7-5203-7496-5
2. "日本的"花押"到底是什么?" (in Chinese). June 6, 2020. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
3. 望月 鶴川 [Kakusen Mochizuki] (June 2005), 花押のせかい [The World of Kaō], 朝陽会 [Chōyōkai], ISBN 978-4-903059-03-7
4. 佐藤 進一 [Satō Shin'ichi] (September 2000), 花押を読む [Reading Kaō], 平凡社 [Heibonsha], ISBN 978-4-582-76367-6
5. 上島 有 [Tamotsu Kamishima] (December 2004), 中世花押の謎を解く―足利将軍家とその花押 [Cracking the Riddle of Kaō from the Middle Ages: The Ashikaga Shogunate and their Kaō], 山川出版社 [Yamakawa Shuppansha], ISBN 978-4-634-52330-2, JPNO 20717189