The first ceramic nameplates appeared in about 1882. The Tokyo company that first made them, Ito Hyosatsu-ten, is still in business. More than 100 years have passed since then. Over the last few years nameplates have changed considerably, both in style and material. Here, each name is written in ink on a small board made of cypress.
Some names are carved into the wood, others stand out in relief.
To runs a store in Tokyo that sells seals, which are used to endorse documents. I suppose this is because building materials have changed. The name always used to be written vertically, but today people go for the horizontal look more. Nowadays, the names are often written in the Roman alphabet. Some nameplates look like North American or European signs.