sōmyō 草名

Also read sōna. A signature in cursive script. During the Nara period, signatures were written in formal square kaisho 楷書 script. The style changed to semicursive or gyōsho 行書 script during the Heian period, and later to cursive script, sōsho 草書, where two characters were combined into one to form a symbol. During the Fujiwara period, this form of signature appeared in the opening paragraphs of letters. Considered to be similar to and perhaps an early form of a *kaō 花押.