also: けいぞん
message requesting the recipient to keep a gift at hand
Formal, somewhat old-fashioned phrase appended to a note accompanying a gift, politely asking the recipient to keep the gift nearby or use it. Often seen in traditional gift-giving contexts.
At the end of the letter accompanying the gift, I wrote 'Keison' (please keep this at hand).
Standard kanji spelling for this formal gift-note term.
Alternate reading with rendaku; both けいそん and けいぞん are used.
Compound of 恵 (けい, 'blessing, favor') and 存 (そん, 'exist, keep'). The exact historical derivation is uncertain; it is a set phrase used in formal correspondence.