Natsume Sōseki (夏目漱石) with a Japanese seal.

Natsume Sōseki (夏目漱石) and His Seals

Table of Contents/目次

Natsume Sōseki’s Art and Rakkan-in(Signature Seal)
The Role of Seals in Publishing
Sōseki and His Seals (Tenkoku / Inshō)
My Ancestor Kōsho and Natsume Sōseki
漱石の芸術と落款印
出版に欠かせなかった印の役割
漱石と篆刻（印章）
先祖の郊処と漱石

Natsume Sōseki’s Art and Rakkan-in(Signature Seal)

Natsume Sōseki (夏目漱石,1867–1916) is one of the giants of Japanese literature.
He once appeared on the 1,000-yen bill.
His novels Kokoro and Botchan are often printed in high school textbooks.
In Japan, almost everyone knows his name.

But Sōseki was not only a novelist.
He also created calligraphy and paintings, and he shared them with the public.
On these works, he used a special seal called 落款印 (rakkan-in, a Japanese-style seal used as an artistic signature).

A rakkan-in shows that the work is complete.
And it functions as both a signature and a stamp.
It marks the artist’s presence and gives the work its final touch.

The Role of Seals in Publishing

For writers, seals were not only used as 落款印 (rakkan-in) on their works.
They also played an important role in the publishing process.

That role was called 検印 (ken-in, author’s verification seal).
A ken-in was a seal stamped in the colophon, the last page of a book.
It was used so the author could verify the number of copies printed.
And it helped ensure that royalties were paid correctly.

But the story does not end there.
Each writer had his own taste when choosing a seal.
And their ken-in often reflected personality, style, and pride as an author.

Sōseki and His Seals (Tenkoku / Inshō)

Sōseki is said to have owned more than fifty 落款印 (rakkan-in), even though he was primarily a novelist.
All of them were carved not by famous masters, but by relatively unknown seal carvers.

夏目漱石五十八顆の印章
これほど印象を好んだ作家は他にはいないのではないか。
西川清史『文豪と印影』p.82　左右社　2021年

（Translation: Natsume Sōseki owned fifty-eight personal seals. “Perhaps no other writer loved seals as much as he did.“）

漱石は「手元の印材を撫でさすっているうちに、原稿は自然に出来上がっていく」
十川信介著　『夏目漱石』岩波新書　2016年　

（Translation: Sōseki once said, “As I stroke the seal stone in my hand, the manuscript seems to finish itself.”）

Such episodes show how deeply he enjoyed seals.
For Sōseki, seals were not just tools.
They were sources of inspiration, comfort, and creative energy.

My Ancestor Kōsho and Natsume Sōseki

Among the seal engravers who created seals for Sōseki was my ancestor, Kōsho 郊処.

The exact reason why Sōseki asked Kōsho to carve his seals is not clear.
But it may have been connected to Nakamura Fusetsu 中村不折, the artist who illustrated Sōseki’s novel Kokoro.
Kōsho and Fusetsu were from the same hometown.
They also had close personal ties.
In fact, Fusetsu even carved the inscription on Kōsho’s gravestone.

Japanese of the Day / 今日の日本語

Word：落款印（rakkan-in） – signature seal
Meaning：A signature seal that an artist stamps on their work, indicating completion and authorship.
Example：画家は最後に落款印を捺します。(Gaka wa saigo ni rakkain o oshimasu.)
　　　　　The artist stamps a rakkan-in at the end of their work.
Fun Fact：Stamping a rakkan-in tightens the artwork, enhances its completeness, and stabilizes the overall balance.

I am currently preparing a Japanese Culture Course.
Would you like to learn more about Japanese culture, art, and traditional seals like rakkan-in in our lessons?

▶︎ Book Your Trial Lesson

I introduce more about their relationship here:
Kōsho’s Grave: Inscription Written by Fusetsu, Seals by Kōsho.

Coming Next

Kōsho created two 落款印 (rakkan-in) for Sōseki.
I will share this story in mid-September. Please look forward to it.

漱石の芸術と落款印

夏目漱石（1867–1916）は、日本文学の巨星として知られています。

日本では以前1,000円札の顔でした。
高校の教科書には『こころ』や『坊っちゃん』が掲載されていることが多いです。
日本人で知らない人はいないんじゃないかというほどの有名人です。

しかし漱石は小説だけでなく、書や絵画も手掛けて世に出しています。
その作品には、作品の署名として落款印（らっかんいん）が押されていました。
落款印とは作品の完成を示します。そして、署名・捺印の意味合いです。

出版に欠かせなかった印の役割

作家にとって印は、作品に押す落款印だけではありません。
出版の場面でも大切な役割を果たしました。

それが「検印」です。
検印とは、出版部数を著者が正確に把握するために、書籍の奥付に押された印のことです。
正しく印税を支払うために使われました。

どんな印を選ぶかは、作家ごとに個性やこだわりがありました。