83240
My great uncle found this item on Okinawa prior to the end of WW2. I have
tried to find out what it says but have never been able to locate anything or
anyone that is able to help since the writing appears to be from before
reforms were made after WW2.

Any help would be appreciated as I have been searching for several years for
answers.

[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/EBdNJ.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/EBdNJ.jpg)

[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/uh2Xw.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/uh2Xw.jpg)
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-12-24T01:02:24.613
83239
2021-01-15T18:51:47.187
41330
question
meaning translation kanji
Need help with prereform writing on a artefact
I can only make out the first three characters, read from top to bottom, then
right to left:

  * 渡満紀...

The last character appears to have 亻 as one component, but I can't quite make
it out.

The first word 渡満 is read as [と]{to}[ま]{ma}[ん]{n}, and it means "crossing over
(i.e. emigrating) to Manchuria", in reference to the Japanese colony
established in Manchuria during the 1930s and early 1940s. See also the
[Manchukuo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchukuo) article on Wikipedia.

* * *

**UPDATE:** Looping back to this a bit late, what with the holidays and all
the unfortunate hullabaloo in the US these days.

[User 7810](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/users/7810) (formerly Broccoli,
currently Broken Laptop) commented with a compelling suggestion: handwritten
forms, such as those on this cup, often exhibit a kind of slant to the lines,
making it more likely that the last character here is 念. See also their mock-
up of what the whole four-character text may have looked like:

![Sample image of four-character text](https://i.stack.imgur.com/Ab2we.jpg)

Thus, [Ragaroni](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/users/34142)'s suggested
reconstruction is the most-likely contender:

  * **渡満紀念** , literally "crossing to Manchuria commemoration", or in more natural English, "Commemorating the Move to Manchuria".

Note that this is a snippet of wartime text, and thus it might be viewed
negatively in a modern context.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-12-24T02:00:27.403
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2021-01-15T18:51:47.187
2021-01-15T18:51:47.187
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answer