Japanese Sake Cup

[Fortunes Of War]

Thanks Rich.  I thought you would like that!  You have quite a few nice ones too...

This is a Japanese Army Aviation Discharge Sake Cup.  It measures approximately 2″ from rim to rim.  There is a very small chip in the outer porcelain near the the 3 o'clock position (see photo). The inner portion of the cup is painted in white, blue and gold leaf. Near the upper center of the cup is a Japanese Army pilot’s badge painted in great detail. Below it is a twin engine airplane with its propellers spinning. The background is blue, white and gold leaf painted clouds.  The outer aspect of this kabuto-style cup is painted in brown. An army star is present in the front-center. The base takes the shape of a raised airplane. 

[RRA227]

Nice.  When I record my cups I use a metric scale to measure size.  Rich A. in Pa.

[Fortunes Of War]

Rich-

     Your method is the best for accuracy.

 

Mike

[Fortunes Of War]

This Japanese sake cup measures a little over 2.” from rim to rim. The inner and outer rim is painted in a pale blue color that fades to white. The gold leaf painted kanji characters on the inside of the cup read, “Victorious Return!” The center design shows a beautiful national flag with a couple of lines of script to the right of it. There is also a Japanese Army helmet, next to a samurai sword. Above those, the artist has painted a colorful bouquet of pink cherry blossoms and leaves.  I thought this cup was rather iconic, having the flag, helmet and sword present.  

[Mr. Bushido]

On 2022/10/17 at 午前5時31分, Fortunes Of War said:

この日本酒のぐい呑みの大きさは2合強です。」リムからリムまで。内側と外側のリムは淡いブルーで塗装され、徐々に白に変わっていきます。 カップの内側には金箔で 「勝利帰還！」の漢字が描かれていました。中央のデザインには、美しい国旗とその右側に数行の文字が描かれています。サムライ刀の隣には日本軍のヘルメットもあります。その上に、アーティストはピンクの桜の花と葉の色とりどりの花束を描きました。このカップには旗、兜、剣があり、かなり象徴的だと思いました。  

Hello.

 

I think this cup is very nice.

 

The letter in the center reads, "Even if you win, tie the chin strap of your helmet."

 

This phrase is a traditional Japanese slang meaning "Never be proud of your success."

 

The letters are read from the upper right to the lower left, but the "helmet" is replaced with an illustration instead of a letter, which I think is very stylish.

[stratasfan]

8 hours ago, Mr. Bushido said:

Hello.

 

I think this cup is very nice.

 

The letter in the center reads, "Even if you win, tie the chin strap of your helmet."

 

This phrase is a traditional Japanese slang meaning "Never be proud of your success."

 

The letters are read from the upper right to the lower left, but the "helmet" is replaced with an illustration instead of a letter, which I think is very stylish.

 

Thank you for the translation! I love the phrase "Even if you win, tie the chin strap of your helmet." That is so great!

[Kwc271]

Here are my cups. I’ve had them for years.

[Mr. Bushido]

22 hours ago, Kwc271 said:

こちらが私のカップです。私は何年もそれらを持っています。

Nice, sake cups!

Please refer to the information below.

 

The cup(helmet) says  "China Incident" and "Loyalty and Courage".

 

The cup(soldier) says "War commemoration", "I gave my life for my country, but I could survive...", and "46th Infantry Regiment".

 

The cup(military flag) says "Memorial".

[RRA227]

Nice pieces.  Rich A. in Pa.

[Kwc271]

11 hours ago, Mr. Bushido said:

Nice, sake cups!

Please refer to the information below.

 

The cup(helmet) says  "China Incident" and "Loyalty and Courage".

 

The cup(soldier) says "War commemoration", "I gave my life for my country, but I could survive...", and "46th Infantry Regiment".

 

The cup(military flag) says "Memorial".

That’s great! Thank you so much!

Hi,

 I just purchased this sake bottle and was wondering if someone can interpret what it says? Thanks for any help you can give.

[Mr. Bushido]

3 hours ago, Kwc271 said:

That’s great! Thank you so much!

Hi,

 I just purchased this sake bottle and was wondering if someone can interpret what it says? Thanks for any help you can give.

Thank you for sharing such a beautiful item!

 

On the front side, it says "Memorial of honorary discharge" and "76th infantry regiment in Joseon."
On the reverse side,  it says "Yamada" which seems to be the name of a soldier.

[Kwc271]

Thank you so much!

[Kwc271]

Hello,

  I have just acquired another sake cup and was wondering about the translation. It has a field gun painted on it. Thanks for all your help!

[Mr. Bushido]

12 hours ago, Kwc271 said:

Hello,

  I have just acquired another sake cup and was wondering about the translation. It has a field gun painted on it. Thanks for all your help!

Nice!

The cup says "Imperial Guards Artillery Regiment", "Memorial" and "Funahasi" .

 

Normally, an IJA soldier's cap badge is a single star, but the Imperial Guards Division has a different shape, with a leaf added around it.

 

Furthermore, "Funahasi" is a personal name, indicating the surname of a soldier who was honorably discharged.
Please note that Japanese assigns several pronunciations to the same Kanji characters, so the reading may not be correct.

[Kwc271]

Wow, that’s really interesting. Thank you!

[Neil Albaugh]

I have a silver sake cup with the Japanese Imperial Mon embossed in the cup. Since it is silver and has that Mon, I suspect hat it must have been an award from the government that was presented to someone. There are Kanji characters around the lip on the underside but they do not show up in the photo.

 

Can anyone shed some light on what this cup is? It was bought in Japan in 1948.

[Mr. Bushido]

On 2/18/2024 at 7:58 AM, Neil Albaugh said:

I have a silver sake cup with the Japanese Imperial Mon embossed in the cup. Since it is silver and has that Mon, I suspect hat it must have been an award from the government that was presented to someone. There are Kanji characters around the lip on the underside but they do not show up in the photo.

 

Can anyone shed some light on what this cup is? It was bought in Japan in 1948.

This sake cup is engraved with characters that are a design of “Ken【憲】”.

 

There are two possibilities, but these are just my speculations.

 

First, there is speculation that it is related to the military police.

That kanji is used to write the word MP【憲兵】. In this case, the sake cup must have been manufactured during WW2.

 

The second speculation has to do with the Constitution of Japan. The same kanji is used for the word Constitution【憲法】. In this case, the sake cup must have been manufactured after the end of WW2.

 

Personally, I think the second hypothesis is more likely.

[Neil Albaugh]

13 hours ago, Mr. Bushido said:

This sake cup is engraved with characters that are a design of “Ken【憲】”.

 

There are two possibilities, but these are just my speculations.

 

First, there is speculation that it is related to the military police.

That kanji is used to write the word MP【憲兵】. In this case, the sake cup must have been manufactured during WW2.

 

The second speculation has to do with the Constitution of Japan. The same kanji is used for the word Constitution【憲法】. In this case, the sake cup must have been manufactured after the end of WW2.

 

Personally, I think the second hypothesis is more likely.

Thank you. I will try to photograph the Kanji characters around the underside of the cup rim and post it. Perhaps this may make the answer clear. BTW, I also have a small (6" tall) silver vase with the Imperial Mon. It has no other symbol superimposed. How common is it to find items with the Imperial Mon?

I did meet Prince Akahito when my family lived in Tokyo 1947 to 1950 but that is another story.

[Neil Albaugh]

1 hour ago, Neil Albaugh said:

Thank you. I will try to photograph the Kanji characters around the underside of the cup rim and post it. Perhaps this may make the answer clear. BTW, I also have a small (6" tall) silver vase with the Imperial Mon. It has no other symbol superimposed. How common is it to find items with the Imperial Mon?

I did meet Prince Akahito when my family lived in Tokyo 1947 to 1950 but that is another story.

These are the best photos that I could take of the Kanji characters on the underside of the sake cup.

[Mr. Bushido]

5 hours ago, Neil Albaugh said:

These are the best photos that I could take of the Kanji characters on the underside of the sake cup.

Please look at the picture below.The letter "憲法發布" is engraved.
This means that the Japanese Constitution has come into effect.

 

Incidentally, sake cups engraved with Mon are still a common prize.
However, I have never seen a design with letters overlapped on top of it.

I guess it's a rare design made in connection with very special laws and regulations such as the Constitution.
It may also have something to do with important bills, such as the Constitution, requiring the Emperor's certification, although they are ceremonial.

[Neil Albaugh]

13 minutes ago, Mr. Bushido said:

Please look at the picture below.The letter "憲法發布" is engraved.
This means that the Japanese Constitution has come into effect.

 

Incidentally, sake cups engraved with Mon are still a common prize.
However, I have never seen a design with letters overlapped on top of it.

I guess it's a rare design made in connection with very special laws and regulations such as the Constitution.
It may also have something to do with important bills, such as the Constitution, requiring the Emperor's certification, although they are ceremonial.

Thank you very much for your help in identifying what this sake cup may be. Perhaps it is worth keeping.

Regards, Neil

[Steve Lambert]

I don't know if this is an appropriate comment or not, but here goes. My wife has an interest in Japanese culture. We considered a sake toast at our wedding. Then we tried it. Decided against it.