1.
seal, sealing
A seal placed on a container, document, or object to prevent unauthorized opening. Also the act of affixing such a seal.
手紙に封印をする。
To place a seal on a letter.
箱の封印が破られていた。
The seal on the box had been broken.
証拠品には警察の封印が貼られている。
The evidence has a police seal affixed to it.
2.
sealing away, locking away, suppressing
To deliberately lock away, suppress, or stop using something. Often used figuratively for abandoning a technique, hiding a memory, or sealing away a power (common in fiction and everyday speech).
辛い記憶を封印する。
To seal away painful memories.
けがのせいで得意な技を封印せざるを得なかった。
Due to injury, I had no choice but to stop using my signature technique.
古い神社の奥に封印された邪悪な力が目覚めた、という物語だ。
It's a story about an evil power sealed away deep within an old shrine that awakens.
USAGE:
封印する is used both literally (sealing documents, containers) and figuratively (suppressing memories, abandoning techniques). The figurative sense is very common in everyday conversation and is a staple of fantasy fiction, manga, and anime where characters seal away powers or monsters.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 封印を解く: to break a seal, to unseal
- 封印を破る: to break a seal (forcibly)
- 記憶を封印する: to seal away memories
- 技を封印する: to stop using a technique
- 封印された～: sealed ~