Meatball - Unsure of this one

[Von Ritt]

Nice overall condition I think. Hopefully my pics will help determine if authentic. Thanks for your time.

[ghp95134]

祈武運長久
Wishes for continued luck in the fortunes of war

俟凱旋
Waiting for your triumphal return

藤川正君
Fujikawa Tadashi-kun
Mr. Fujikawa Tadashi

I'm just guessing at "Tadashi" since that's my uncle-in-law's name; 正 has many other readings.


--Guy

[Nick Komiya]

Looks OK to me. It exhibits some subtle pre-war spelling not used postwar.

[Nick Komiya]

Not only were there pre-war Kanji, but Hiragana and Katakana, the phonetic simple characters were used in different combination before 1945.
For instance, Butterfly in phonetics was written てふてふ, which modern Japanese will read as Tef Tef, but actually it was read as Chou-Chou, which after 1945 was written as ちょうちょう.

[ghp95134]

Not only were there pre-war Kanji, but Hiragana and Katakana, the phonetic simple characters were used in different combination before 1945.
For instance, Butterfly in phonetics was written てふてふ, which modern Japanese will read as Tef Tef, but actually it was read as Chou-Chou, which after 1945 was written as ちょうちょう.

NOOOOOOoooooooooooooo!!! JUST NOOOooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Sheesh ... I was aware of a few obscure hiragana that are no longer used .... but I **NEVER** knew about the "tehu-tehu/choh-choh" ... I guess it is kinda-sorta the equivalent of the confusion beginners have with the old kunrei system of romanization, where "shi" was romanized as si, "chi" was romanized as ti, "tsu" as tu, etc. .... but that, I understand.

--Guy

[Nick Komiya]

By the same token, "Today" was written as けふ (Kefu by today's reading) before and now きょう, but both were pronounced Kyou. You need to know all these to read wartime documents.

[Von Ritt]

Thank you gentlemen. Could not find any info on Fujikawa Tadashi-kun / Mr. Fujikawa Tadashi. Any way to determine the village or city location for this soldier?

[ghp95134]

Thank you gentlemen. Could not find any info on Fujikawa Tadashi-kun / Mr. Fujikawa Tadashi. Any way to determine the village or city location for this soldier?

The short answer is “no.” It would be the equivalent of trying to find a John Richards who joined the army between 1940-1945. The surname and given name both are very common.

—Guy