Definitely off topic - who can read Japanese?

[Back2denali]

Looks like a lot of odds and ends posted in this category so I hope this fits.
My granddad brought some souvenirs back from Japan when he was in the Navy. This flag is one of those. I think I have it backwards but can reverse the image if necessary. Can anyone tell me what's written here? These things were made as souvenirs so it's probably a grocery list but any help is appreciated.

[IMG] WWII flag by back2denali, on Flickr[/IMG]

[megocrazy]

Sorry I'm bi-illiterate. I can't read Japanese or Swahili.

[sauce]

I know
People who can

[ctc]

Hmmmm....

My Japanese isn't real good, so I'm not gonna be much help here.... It looks the right way around, but there are no proper particles in the writing. This would imply:

-it's written in archaic Japanese
-those are names
-it's actually Chinese

I'd bet on the name thing; most of the characters are arranged in groups of 4 or 5. Pretty common for Japanese names. Maybe it's the crew of a ship?

Hopefully someone else will be more helpful.

Don C.

[Megotu]

Off topic to the question perhaps, but is any topic possibly offtopic here in General Topics?

[cjefferys]

It's not backwards, I know some of those characters. But Don brings up a good point, the characters are all kanji, no hirigana. So as he says, it might just be names (that's my guess too), or it's in Chinese. I can ask my wife about it tomorrow, she would know for sure.

[starsky]

it's definitely chinese and not japanese.

[theantiquetiger]

This reminds me of the jokester who replies to people's ads on Craigslist

It is Not Safe For Children NSFW because of langauge, but some one posted on CL asking some one to translate Japanese

I will not link it directly - dontevenreply.com

[ctc]

So;

Got a note from my buddy Rob:

>Tossed it over to some Chinese-speaking friends.
>They said except for the 5 big kanji at the top, everything you see is a name.

Don C.

[ctc]

So;

Further from Rob:

>My wife just translated (sorta) the Kanji at the top. It basically says something to the effect of “Good Luck in Battle Always”.

Don C.

[Gorn Captain]

It says "free eggrolls when ordering for four people or more".

[jimbutsu]

A) It is the right way around
B) It is definitely Japanese, not Chinese
C) There are absolutely some kana in there and not just Kanji
D) It is mostly names

Signed flags are (were, perhaps?) very common for big events; graduation, deployment, retirement, etc. This is that, for what is likely a deployment, enlistment, or something of the sort - I'm rusty and would have to do a lot of looking up to get super details, but I'm too lazy.

[cjefferys]

C) There are absolutely some kana in there and not just Kanji

Crap, you're right. If I squint I can see some kana in the smaller writing. I'm gonna blame my badly aging eyesight on that one.

[jwyblejr]

It says "free eggrolls when ordering for four people or more".

That would have been my guess. Maybe it's an order for take-out sushi?

[Back2denali]

Well, I'm glad it's not a fast-food menu. Thanks for all the responses. If you have anything to add, please do.