Kao - Kao

A symbol written in place of a signature. It is also called a kakihan to distinguish it from a seal stamp. Like a seal, it gives evidentiary power to a document, and various techniques were used to create it as a personal symbol to prevent forgery.

Kao appeared in China during the Tang dynasty, but in Japan they gradually began to be used from the 10th century during the Heian period. At first, signatures were typically written in regular script, but then the style changed from semi-cursive to cursive, and gradually they became designed in a way that made it difficult to distinguish the two characters of the person's real name. This is called somyo, and was common during the Heian period, but was often used in letters until later times. In terms of how they were made, there are types of kao, in addition to the somyo style, which combines parts of the two characters of the person's real name, the one-character style, which uses only one character of the name, the betsuyō style, which uses a figure unrelated to the characters, and the Ming style, which was popular during the Ming dynasty in China and is written between two horizontal lines at the top and bottom. The above five types are famously classified by the Edo period court nobleman Ise Sadatake. However, there are also other combinations of the above types, such as those that combine a family name, real name, and nickname, making for a complex appearance. There are many variations within the single character style, and those that choose characters unrelated to real names to express ideals and aspirations became more common from the Muromachi period onwards, during the Warring States and Azuchi-Momoyama period, and some even wrote characters upside down or upside down. The kao of Zen monks also has a unique flavor, and is an abstract expression closer to a code than a character. The abbreviated kao used by those of low status or those without writing is also a type of kao, and is a simplified code such as a circle or an x. There are cases where the same person has both a grass name style and a different style of kao, and there are also cases where the Ashikaga shoguns after Yoshimitsu used two kao styles, one for warriors and one for nobles. Furthermore, a person's kao calligraphy style may change over the course of their life; they may consciously change their kao when they change their name, become a monk, or change their political status; they may frequently revise their kao to prevent forgery, and may use several different types of kao depending on the purpose.

The appearance of the kao changed over time. In the Heian period, the Kusamyō style and Nigon style were mainstream, which was replaced by Nigonyō style and Ichiji style in the Middle Ages, and then the new style mentioned above appeared, and in the Edo period, Ming style was the most popular. The kao originated as a substitute for a signature, but from the end of the Heian period, the kao began to be written under the real name, and later, the style of writing the real name and kao together emerged. As the relationship between the real name and the kao faded, it became indistinguishable from a seal, and when the kao began to be carved and stamped, the kao also became like a seal, and it became common to use a seal instead of the kao. Even today, cabinet ministers and others sometimes use kao on official documents.

[Kanichi Minagawa]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

自署のかわりに書く記号。印判と区別して書判(かきはん)ともいう。印章と同様に文書に証拠力を与えるもので、個人の表徴として偽作を防ぐため、その作成には種々のくふうが凝らされた。

　花押は中国の唐代から現れるが、わが国では平安時代の10世紀のころからしだいに用いられるようになった。初め自署は楷書(かいしょ)で書くのが例であったが、行書から草書に変わり、しだいに実名の二字の区別がつかない図案風のものとなった。これを草名(そうみょう)といい、平安時代に多くみられるが、後世までとくに書状に用いられることが多かった。花押の類型は、作り方からみると草名体のほかに、実名の二字の一部を組み合わせた二合体(にごうたい)、名の一字だけをとった一字体、文字と関係のない図形を用いた別用体、中国の明(みん)代に流行した様式で、天地の2本の横線の間に書く明朝体があり、以上の5類型は江戸時代の有職家(ゆうそくか)伊勢貞丈(いせさだたけ)の分類として有名である。しかしこのほかにも、前記の類型の複合型もあり、苗字(みょうじ)・実名・通称の組合せによるものなど、その様相は複雑である。一字体のなかには変種が多く、実名と関係のない文字を選んで、理想や願望を表したりするものが室町時代以降戦国織豊(しょくほう)期に多くなり、文字を倒置したり裏返しに書くものも現れた。禅僧の花押も一種独特の風味のあるもので、文字よりは符号に近い抽象的な表現になっている。また身分の低い者や無筆の者が用いる略押も花押の一種で、〇や×などの簡略な符号であった。同一人でも草名体と他の形式の花押をもつ例があり、義満(よしみつ)以降の足利(あしかが)将軍のように武家様と公家(くげ)様の花押の2種を使用する例もみられる。また一生の間には花押にも書風の変遷があるが、意識的に、改名・出家・政治的地位の変化などを転機として花押を変えることがあり、偽造を防ぐために頻繁に改作したり、用途によって数種の花押を使い分けることもあった。

　花押は時代によってもその様相は変遷する。平安時代は草名体・二合体が主流であり、中世になると二合体・一字体がそれにかわり、さらに前述の新様式が現れ、江戸時代には明朝体がもっとも流行した。花押は自署のかわりとして発生したものであったが、平安末期より実名の下に花押が書かれるようになり、のちには実名と花押を連記する風が生じた。実名と花押の関係が薄れると印章と変わるところがなくなり、さらに花押を彫って捺(お)すようになると、花押も印章化し、花押にかわって印章を捺すことが一般化した。なお、今日でも閣僚などが公式文書に花押を使用することがある。

［皆川完一］

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