Your friend did a very poor job of copying it. My Japanese wife agrees that the upper left kanji looks like someone tried to copy ushiwakamaru, but it's wrong. The other stuff, except for the uppermost right corner (san) is total gibberish and not kanji at all. Quite decorative, but alien language.
If you're planning to give a relative a gift from the country where you are now, it would be better to give them something from that country. Pro sports T-shirt or cap, food, wine, photo book, local craft.
If you are American, and a family member from Japan came with a decorative box with a cowboy or rodeo design on it, but it read "Jakn Wajme" (instead of John Wayne), and had letters in English but so garbled you couldn't make them out, how would you feel?
My wife and I both disagree about that box being appreciated nonetheless. That might be the outward feeling you'll get, but they'll probably pawn it off at the nearest secondhand shop right after you leave.
