All standard customizations are to be ordered directly on each product page, under the
"Product Customizations" section. Logos and special embroideries
must be discussed prior to placing your order.
In Japan, the inclusion of one's name on one's equipment is very common, it is even sometimes imposed by the teacher. Embroidering one's name is considered as a mark of humility (it means that you do not consider yourself worthy enough of interest for the teacher to remember your name). Beyond that, embroidery, whether on martial arts equipment or not, is an important part of Japanese culture. Athletes, martial artists, waiters in restaurants etc. all commonly have their names on their outfit!
While Japanese people embroider their surnames, westerners usually use their first-names. Although it is much more common in Japan to call a person by their surname name, Japanese teachers are usually aware of this cultural difference and will not hesitate to call foreigners by their first name.
It is also common to embroider the name of club, dojo, or university to which one is attached, whether on the Hakama, jacket, or belt.
Traditional Japanese embroidery was erected as an art. Ninety percent of automated embroidery machines sold worldwide are manufactured in Japan and there is an embroidery workshop at almost every corner! SeidoShop uses a professional embroidery machine (Barudan) of the same type as those used by high-end specialty shops.
Embroideries are available in Roman characters (classic alphabet), katakana (Japanese phonetic alphabet for the transcription of foreign sounds), hiragana (Japanese phonetic alphabet classic), and kanji (Sino-Japanese characters). In the case of a Japanese character embroidery, you can send us a file or write to us when you checkout.
It may be possible to embroider items at other locations than those proposed in our modules or in other fonts and colors, or even to create logos. Contact us if you have a particular query.