I am hoping you can help me with an item I have. It is a buckle with a dragon on the front with a small inscription in the lower left corner, and on the back, a longer inscription. It was given to me by a dear friend whose father gave it to her when he returned from World War II.
At first I thought it was Japanese. I got a rather odd interpretation about "Health Insurance" based on modern Japanese Kanji. But this buckle was made before the use of modern Japanese, and someone asked me if it might be Chinese.
One thing I have noticed, is that the characters are rounder than the Chinese I have looked at - they are very "rounded". So I am at the end of the line in my search - and after all of this, I'm not sure if its something in Japanese about Health Insurance, or if its something very different in Chinese.
Can you help me? I have pictures of the buckle.
Here are links to pictures of the buckle, front and back.
Front of Buckle with dragon and small inscription:
As you can see when viewing the back of the buckle, a few of the characters on the ends of lines two and four are hidden by the hinge on each end. So here are additional views of the inscription on the back, where the hidden characters are visible:
If you can provide any information or insight at all on this writing, I would be extremely greatful.
Thank you, sincerely,
Kat
Answer Hi, Kat,
Thank you for bringing up this interesting question.
I'm pretty sure it is Japanese, judging by its content.
so the Kanji's in the back read(line by line)
7th
Health Insurance Sports Meeting(or Assembly)
Kumamoto（a city in Japan)
Syowa 11th yr(the year of 1936)
So it's obviously Japanese. Speaking of the single kanji in the front by the dragon head, i'm not sure about it. just bind guessing: it looks like a "land" for me. it could stand for "army". Give it a second thought, it could also be another kanji standing for friendly or harmony. i may have to borrow my grandpa's "dictionary of origin of Characters" lol
You said that "this buckle was made before the use of modern Japanese", i'm wondering what time you were referring to, for i'm not familiar with the history.
You also mentioned that "the characters are rounder than the Chinese I have looked at". thought very round, it doesn't necessarily indicate they're not Chinese. Well, actually, there are many variations or "fonts" of Chinese character writing and many are still used nowadays in calligraphy or on special occasions.
Thanks for sharing with me this interesting buckle with history. Now that it's confirmed it's Japanese, you may want to consult a Japanese expert. but of course, you're welcome to bring up any further questions.
