Goshuin-ko

I’ve been to Japan twice now, with a third trip coming up soon—and somewhere along the way, I got hooked on collecting goshuins. If you’re not familiar with them, they’re these beautiful hand-stamped seals you can get at temples and shrines across Japan. What makes them special is that they’re not just stamps—someone at the temple or shrine writes them by hand using calligraphy, adding the date, the name of the place, and sometimes the names of the deities. Each one is quite different, with its own personality in the brushstrokes and colors.

As a designer, I find myself looking at them in a way that might be a bit obsessive. The composition, the balance between the red stamps and black ink, the way certain characters are emphasized—it’s all so intentional. I’ve collected over 50 so far, and I realized I want to actually understand what they say and appreciate the craft behind them, not just keep them in a book on my shelf.

So that’s what this blog is about. I’ll be sharing the goshuins I’ve collected, trying to decipher their meaning, and exploring what makes each one unique from a design perspective—the calligraphy styles, the color choices, the way they use negative space. It might be a bit niche, but I’m excited to dive into it.