看板(かんばん)を掲(かか)げる

かんばんをかかげる
expression
to hang out a sign; to open a business; to publicly declare one's stance
Conjugation
AffirmativeNegative
Present看板(かんばん)を掲(かか)げる看板(かんばん)を掲(かか)げない
Present polite看板(かんばん)を掲(かか)げます看板(かんばん)を掲(かか)げません
Past看板(かんばん)を掲(かか)げた看板(かんばん)を掲(かか)げなかった
Past polite看板(かんばん)を掲(かか)げました看板(かんばん)を掲(かか)げませんでした
て form看板(かんばん)を掲(かか)げて看板(かんばん)を掲(かか)げなくて
ている present看板(かんばん)を掲(かか)げている看板(かんばん)を掲(かか)げていない
ている polite看板(かんばん)を掲(かか)げています看板(かんばん)を掲(かか)げていません
ている past看板(かんばん)を掲(かか)げていた看板(かんばん)を掲(かか)げていなかった
ている past polite看板(かんばん)を掲(かか)げていました看板(かんばん)を掲(かか)げていませんでした
Conditional ば看板(かんばん)を掲(かか)げれば看板(かんばん)を掲(かか)げなければ
Conditional たら看板(かんばん)を掲(かか)げたら看板(かんばん)を掲(かか)げなかったら
Volitional看板(かんばん)を掲(かか)げよう—
Volitional polite看板(かんばん)を掲(かか)げましょう—
Potential看板(かんばん)を掲(かか)げられる看板(かんばん)を掲(かか)げられない
Passive看板(かんばん)を掲(かか)げられる看板(かんばん)を掲(かか)げられない
Causative看板(かんばん)を掲(かか)げさせる看板(かんばん)を掲(かか)げさせない
Imperative看板(かんばん)を掲(かか)げろ看板(かんばん)を掲(かか)げるな
1. to hang out a shop sign; to open or formally launch a business
Literally "to raise a sign." Refers to a shop or business displaying its nameplate or shop sign, which in Japanese culture has long marked the moment a business begins trading. By extension, the phrase is used to mean "to open up as X" or "to operate as X."
店(みせ)の看板(かんばん)を掲(かか)げる。
To hang out the shop sign.
駅前(えきまえ)にラーメン屋(や)の看板(かんばん)を掲(かか)げた。
He put up a sign for a ramen shop in front of the station.
祖父(そふ)は四十年(よんじゅうねん)前(まえ)にこの通(とお)りで和菓子屋(わがしや)の看板(かんばん)を掲(かか)げた。
My grandfather opened a Japanese sweets shop on this street forty years ago.
2. to publicly advertise or proclaim (a slogan, principle, policy, or identity); to openly claim to be (something)
Figurative use. Someone or some organization openly claims a particular label, slogan, principle, or identity as their public face. Often used for political parties, activists, or companies that publicly associate themselves with a particular cause, style, or ideology. The tone can be neutral or mildly skeptical — when the reality does not match the claim, the phrase implies that the sign is just for show.
改革(かいかく)を看板(かんばん)に掲(かか)げる。
To hang up "reform" as one's banner / to make reform one's slogan.
この政党(せいとう)は環境保護(かんきょうほご)を看板(かんばん)に掲(かか)げている。
This political party makes environmental protection its public platform.
「顧客(こきゃく)第一(だいいち)」を看板(かんばん)に掲(かか)げているわりには、対応(たいおう)がずいぶん冷(つめ)たかった。
Considering that they proudly advertise "customer first," their response was awfully cold.

Literally "to raise/hang up a sign." Composed of 看板(かんばん) (shop sign, signboard) + を (object marker) + 掲(かか)げる (to raise, to hoist, to hold up). Historically rooted in the practice of a new shop hanging up its painted or carved 看板(かんばん) to signal that it was open for business.

COMMON PATTERNS:

  • Xを看板(かんばん)に掲(かか)げる: to make X one's banner / slogan / public stance
  • Xを看板(かんばん)にする: a close synonym of the figurative sense
  • 看板(かんばん)を下(お)ろす: to take down the sign — idiomatic for closing a business or abandoning a stated principle
  • 看板(かんばん)倒(だお)れ: (literally "the sign has fallen") — all talk and no substance; a facade that doesn't match reality

USAGE NOTE:
The literal sense 1 (opening a shop) is transparent and neutral. The figurative sense 2 is extremely common in news commentary and political writing, where it can be used without comment or, very often, with a tone of mild skepticism — "they put it on their sign, but..." The figurative sense usually takes the pattern Xを看板(かんばん)に掲(かか)げる, with に rather than を marking 看板(かんばん).

RELATED EXPRESSIONS:

  • 旗印(はたじるし)に掲(かか)げる: to raise (something) as a banner — a close synonym of sense 2, with a more martial or ideological flavor.
  • 看板(かんばん)を下(お)ろす: to take down the sign — to close a business; to withdraw from a stated position.
  • 看板(かんばん)倒(だお)れ: a facade; all show and no substance.
  • 大看板(おおかんばん): a big name; the star of a company or troupe.

REGISTER:
Neutral to slightly formal/written. Common in news writing, essays, and business journalism, but also used in everyday spoken Japanese.

general
Added 2026.4.12 6:33
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