|
Subject:Re: Translation text Man in boat pottery
Posted By: Bill H Tue, Jul 08, 2014
This is a Japanese character doll of a type called "Hakata", perhaps dating to circa the mid-20th century. Military personnel in Japan during the post-World War II occupation and ensuing Korean war were frequent customers for such collectibles.
I would speculate that the characters on the small boat are meant as a pun. They appear to read literally from the left as "Flower-transport boat" (華運丸 - Ka'un Maru), with "Maru" being a term that usually follows the name of a larger ship. (NOTE: I'm trying to read Japanese from a basis of having studied standard Chinese characters, called "kanji" in Japan, so must guess at the transcription "ka'un", though the two characters involved can be read literally as "flower transport".)
Best regards,
Bill H.
|