Need help for a friend... Does anyone here Speak/READ Japanese?

Reignman

Reignman

Joined
Oct 18, 2012
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Long story short, a VERY good friend of mine just inherited some items. We would really like to find out what they are or where they're from and ultimately find a home for them. One is a large ceramic painting and the other a ceramic vase. He is really bummed because he has no use for them and doesn't know how to even begin to find a place for them or even the right place. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
I have pictures of the japanese writing on them and will gladly send them. Any help would again be greatly appreciated as well, he's always been there for me so as soon as he mentioned wanting to know more, I feel like I need to do my best to help.

Much obliged
 
Shot in the dark:
Take focused, well lit photos of the items and get in touch with someone from either a local university or museum. Look to speak with someone that has experience with Japanese history or anthropology in general. It will be a good starting point. The older the items are, the better of course.
 
RevDevil said:
Shot in the dark:
Take focused, well lit photos of the items and get in touch with someone from either a local university or museum. Look to speak with someone that has experience with Japanese history or anthropology in general. It will be a good starting point. The older the items are, the better of course.
Click to expand...

Thats a good idea, may have to try that from the looks of it.. Surprised with all the makers etc around here nobody speaks even a little. Such is life
 
If it is contemporary Japanese, we doubtlessly have members here who can do it in seconds from a good picture. Japanese is not an uncommon language. Murray Carter, for one, is fluent.

I once got to see the American Declaration of Independance, the actual document itself. One would think that it would be so moving to read those famous words from their original text... but it's actually quite difficult. The handwritting is an old style, the spellings of many words are different. The punctuation is somewhat different. In just 230-some years, written American English has changed a lot. Fortunately, a handout was provided explaining how to read some of the tricky parts.

Japanese has also gone through similar changes over time and, depending on how old your item is, you may need specialized help.
 
Tbags said:
Or take it down to your local sushi restaurant.
Click to expand...

Believe it or not, that will probably work. I have a few really interesting coins from Thailand & Cambodia, and I took them to a local Thai restaurant. One of the cooks had grown up in rural Thailand, and she was able to translate some of the symbols for me, and direct me to where I could find out more.

Good luck -

~Chris
 
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