[Sangetsu]

When I arrived in Japan I was given a hanko stamp with my name in kanji. My name is far from anything normally used in Japanese, but for some reason people seem to have little trouble reading it.

It is completely possible to get your western name written in Japanese, but more than likely no Japanese would know which pronunciation to use, unless you used kanji with only a single phonetic sound.

If you live in Japan long enough, and manage to get permanent residency, you can choose any Japanese name you like; you could call yourself "Miyamoto Musashi" if you wanted, and get it printed in your passport and on your license...