Can you read Japanese?

[Siv]

Hello all. Just took delivery of my first Platinum - the Galaxy Maki-e. Actually, I guess it's strictly speaking not a Maki-e as it doesn't have the gold sprinkles but it is sprinkled with abalone just like the Pilot VP Raden.

 

It's quite a nice looking pen, made from ebonite and certainly has bling. It's a bit unusual for a relatively expensive pen as it's a push fit cap, not threaded. I haven't inked it yet but will do soon. If you are familiar with the VP Raden then it superficially looks the same but it's not - there is much more abalone on it from top to bottom and the lacquer is not as shiny. I'm pretty sure I'm going to get the nib and clip rhodinated before it sees lots of use.

 

My photo doesn't really do the pen justice but the main reason for the photo is to find out what is written on the piece of paper that came with it. The paper is probably just the model name but it has a funny texture on the back - I wonder if the paper is meant for something else? Since I can't read Japanese, I have no idea. Can anyone translate for me?

Edited October 17, 2008 by Siv

[Neill78]

Hello all. Just took delivery of my first Platinum - the Galaxy Maki-e. Actually, I guess it's strictly speaking not a Maki-e as it doesn't have the gold sprinkles but it is sprinkled with abalone just like the Pilot VP Raden.

 

It's quite a nice looking pen, made from ebonite and certainly has bling. It's a bit unusual for a relatively expensive pen as it's a push fit cap, not threaded. I haven't inked it yet but will do soon. If you are familiar with the VP Raden then it superficially looks the same but it's not - there is much more abalone on it from top to bottom and the lacquer is not as shiny. I'm pretty sure I'm going to get the nib and clip rhodinated before it sees lots of use.

 

My photo doesn't really do the pen justice but the main reason for the photo is to find out what is written on the piece of paper that came with it. The paper is probably just the model name but it has a funny texture on the back - I wonder if the paper is meant for something else? Since I can't read Japanese, I have no idea. Can anyone translate for me?

 

It's basically the price tag. From the rightmost column:

"High quality Aizu nuri (lacquer ware) XX" can't read the last word, but it looks like a place name.

I'm not sure about the next line. The part in square brackets looks like it could be the place or the name of the person who made/designed it, or maybe the style/technique. The last word is "manufacture"

Model number PTB-70000c #56

73,500 yen (including tax, I assume, in archaic characters for whatever reason)

"real" price: 70,000 yen.

 

A native speaker will probably be able to read those tiny and blurry characters on the right without any difficulty. Maybe Taki-san will chime in.

 

Neill

[Dillo]

The second line of words reads 克彦

 

It's interesting that they used "old style" Kanji for the price.

 

BTW: It's only recently that I have formally started learning Japanese, but I've been with it for almost my whole life. My grandparents speak Japanese, but they live in Taiwan.

 

Dillon

Edited October 17, 2008 by Dillo

[037]

On the very right line the words in parenthesis (銀河) literally means Silver River, but its usually used as an evocation of the Milky Way (in astronomy).

[Taki]

On the very right line the words in parenthesis (銀河) literally means Silver River, but its usually used as an evocation of the Milky Way (in astronomy).

..or Galaxy

 

The first line reads Kokyu Aizu Maki-e. For some reason the price is in old-style characters but not other kanjis. For example, Aizu , maki-e, hontai, kakaku are in abbreviated characters (there maybe more, but I never learned old-style kanjis formally as I was born after WWII).

 

There is a regulation implemented four years ago in Japan that prices of goods shown on price tags must include national consumption tax. That's why they printed the total price with tax in the big characters, and the price of the pen itself in smaller characters in the last line (hontai kakaku - or the price of the good itself).

Edited October 17, 2008 by Taki

[Siv]

Hehehe... thanks for all the replies! Shows how my overactive imagination was churning - because of the funny texture on the underside I thought it may be an urushi polishing paper or something. But no, it's the price sticker

 

And no, I didn't pay $700 for this puppy - about half that.

[Renzhe]

Huh...

...what a mix-up of character sets.

 

If anyone feels like comparing, Traditional characters are

高級會津蒔繪 《銀河》

“克顏” 製作

PTB-70000c #五六

柒萬參仟伍佰圓

（本體價格 七萬圓）

 

(Arabic numerals are allowed in model numbers and stuff.)

I suspect the financial numerals (壹 貳 參 etc.) are newer than the normals ones, so I wouldn't call them archaic.

[Renzhe]

"克顏" 製作

"克顏?" Man I can be really illiterate sometimes. I meant "克彥."