How do say say "Dear Sir, or Madame" in JAPANESE?

Question

For a Japanese scholarship application (written in English) I thought of importing the "Dear Sir or Madame" part in Japanese as well.
If there is something else appropriate to write at the beginning of an official Japanese letter, pls feel free to share.

I would appreciate, if you could include the asked phrase in kanji (Japanese sign language) as well.
Thanks!

Answer 1

There are some words for Dear Sir/Madam but the most common ones are
拝啓(haikei) and 謹啓(kinkei).

拝啓 is used in a general/formal letter.
When you begin your letter with 拝啓, you should end it with 敬具(keigu).

謹啓 is used in a polite/very formal letter.
When you begin your letter with 拝啓, you should end it with 謹言(kingen).

Reference:
http://japanese.about.com/library/weekly/aa101401a.htm

Answer 2

The answer is, YOU DON'T....

You could translate Dear Sir or Madame into Japanese, but it will be awfully awkward. That phrase is simply not used in Japan. If you are going to write it in English, I suggest you say it in English.

As to what is more appropriate, it all depends on who is granting you the scholarship. There are literally dozens of way to say the same thing in Japanese depending on who the audience is. Using wrong one can be disastrous.

Whatever you do, DO NOT use the online translator and cut-and-paste. Ones that do not take exact meaning of the letter into consideration will spit out the letters that could offend someone.

You perhaps could say,

"Shin-sa-in, kaku-i dono" which means "dear all levels of members of examination board" This phrase is polite, gneder non-specific, and to the point.

Answer 3

貴重- dear
氏-mister
失敗- miss
夫人-madame
にかかわる誰に- to whom it concerns
皇帝- emperor