State Seal of Japan
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The State Seal of Japan is the Japanese official seal.It is square and is written "大日本國璽"(Great Japan(Nii-Pon) Nation Seal) in the Archaic script (篆書:tensyo). When written vertically in two lines, the right-hand side is "大日本"(Great Japan(Nii-Pon)) and the left-hand side is "國璽"(Nation Seal).
[edit] History
The seal is made from pure gold, measures 3 suns (about 9cm) and weighs 4.5kg. The master-hand of the seal who lived in Kyoto, 安部井 櫟堂 (Abei Rekido 1805 -1883) was ordered to produce the seal, and he manufactured it with the Privy Seal of Japan in one year in 1874 (Meiji 7). Although there was no character of "帝"(imperial) into the seal sentence since it was manufactured before the name of a country of Japan was formally made a "Great Japan(Nii-Pon) Empire(Imperial Nation)(大日本帝国)" by the Meiji Constitution, it was not reminted at the time of the Meiji Constitution establishment. Under the Meiji Constitution, the case where the Privy Seal or State Seal is pushed had been defined on official note formula(公文式：kubunsiki 1886 -1907) and official formula code(公式令:kusikirei 1907 -1947). However, 公式令 was abolished with enforcement of the Constitution of Japan, and there is currently no replacement statute. The State Seal is only used for certificate decoration (勲記:kunki).
It is stored in a specially designated leather bag. When used, a special ruler is used, and cinnabar seal ink specially made in the national Printing Bureau is used so that it should not bend or shift.
Reproduction of the State Seal and the Privy Seal for the purposes of use are offenses, punishable by two years or more of terminable penal servitude according to Article 164 the 1st clause of the criminal code.
