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| Collecting Japanese military sake cups is a lot of fun, and its main appeal lies in the colorful and interesting patterns. But the more you collect, the more you probably want to know about your cups, and the best first step is figuring out what is written on them. Of course, those who can read Japanese need not proceed further; this is a crash course in reading the Japanese that is written on cups. As you begin to accumulate cups, you will notice that certain phrases pop up time and again. These must be mastered, and although I could type them here for you, I think it is best to look and see how they are actually written on cups. Sometimes they are stamped on, and in those cases the kanji (Chinese characters) are clear and easy to read. But in most cases these are handwritten, and sometimes they are written in a cursive style. These still must be read, though, so I have included only pictures of writing on actual cups. The most basic phrase—and one you should certainly memorize—is KI- NEN, which means ‘commemorative.’ It is used all the time, everywhere, in the bowls, on the reverses, in every kind of phrase imaginable. This is understandable since Japanese military cups are commemorative items. |
| The two kanji in both pics are KI-NEN. Note that the KI here is different from the two cups to the left. |
| KI-NEN ('Commemorative', read right to left) |
| As noted in the picture captions, there are two ways of writing KI-NEN, which might be a bit confusing. Both mean exactly the same thing. Today the one on the left is rarely used. |
| Cups were given for many different reasons, for example, entering the service, leaving the service, leaving a certain regiment (often because it has been combined with another), going on furlough, etc. Here are the phrases I’ll look at in this article. JO-TAI KINEN Discharge Commemorative Given upon completion of active service MAN-KI KINEN Term Fulfillment Commemorative Given upon completion of time (i.e. at the end of a 2-year stint) TAI-EI KINEN Leaving the Service Commemorative Given upon completion of service KI-KYU KINEN Furlough Commemorative Given upon early completion of service KAI-TAI KINEN Disbandment Commemorative Given when the IJN went through a major reorganization in the 1920s. Many units were combined and many discarded. NYU-TAI KINEN NYU-EI KINEN Both are Entering the Service Commemoratives and are rarely seen because cups were usually given upon leaving the service. SHU-SEI Deployment Commemorative Given after dispatch to a certain area. OO-SHOU Draft Commemorative Given to reservists who have reported to their units in compliance with a call to colors The phrase used for discharge on account of wounds, ill health, physical disability, or from military liability is MEN-EKI, or HEI-EKI MEN-JOU. I have never seen this phrase on a cup, probably because it is a bit shameful and one wouldn’t want to be reminded of it while relaxing with a good drink. Let’s look at the most common phrase, ‘Discharge Commemorative.’ There are three phrases that seem to have the same meaning. |
| JO-TAI KI-NEN Leaving the Service Commemorative |
| The phrase in this picture is read from right to left and top to bottom. It combines the two phrases we have discussed, KI-NEN and JO-TAI. |
| Here is the same JO-TAI phrase, but it is written horizontally, right to left. Note that the KI-NEN phrase here is written in the older style, as discussed above. |
| MAN-KI KI-NEN Fulfillment of Service Commemorative |
| This one is handwritten, so it might be a bit hard to read. MAN-KI begins on the right. The MAN here is the same kanji that is used in Manchuria (pronounced MAN-SHU in Japanese) so you might get confused at first. |
This phrase is most often found on
naval cups, but it also appears on
Army cups once in a while.
naval cups, but it also appears on
Army cups once in a while.
| TAI-EI KI-NEN Leaving the Service Commemorative |
| Next is a phrase that is almost interchangeable with JO-TAI and MAN-KI. It is TAI-EI (or sometimes TAI-EKI). Again, read right to left, and the two characters to the left are the ubiquitous KI-NEN. |
| KI-KYU KI-NEN Furlough Commemorative |
| The next phrase is a Furlough Commemorative, or Early Completion of Service Commemorative. It is read KI-KYU. The first character means return and the second one means rest. The strange thing about this phrase is that there are 3 ways of writing the first kanji, though all have the same pronunciation and meaning. |
2. Old-style. This character was
simplified after the war. See pictures 3
& 4
simplified after the war. See pictures 3
& 4
3 & 4. Common, modern style of writing 'return.'
1. Irregular form. Rarely
encountered in post-war Japanese.
encountered in post-war Japanese.