Research for a novel

[Simple]

Hi
It's good to be on Japan Reference!
I'd be really grateful for your help. I'm writing a novel and currently doing the research. In the book, one of the characters finds some Japanese Military Yen, (pictured) and doesn't know what they are. I know the basics from Wikipedia – basically, it is the WW2 wartime currency, used in Japanese occupied territories. But I'd really appreciate knowing what the banknote says - including the red text.
Especially:

• What do the two large, black characters mean? (at the centre of the ﾂ'dark side') Odd - since the same characters are printed all over the notes.
• Does anyone know who the Japanese man pictured is?
• The buildings pictured - if I describe them pagodas and temples, would that be near enough? Are those the correct terms?
• I got the photo from a site that says the note was used in Japanese occupied Hong Kong. Is there anything on the banknotes that verifies this?

Many thanks for your time!
Simple

 

[undrentide]

軍用手票 : military currency
百圓 : 100 Yen

聖徳太子 (Prince Shotoku )
Prince Shōtoku - Wikipedia

ﾅ坦窶｢[ﾂ（窶愿ｺ窶ｰﾃ佛ｽ窶凪?｢ﾃ渉）
I found several website (in Japanese) explaining that this military currency was used during the Second Sino-Japanese War.
(1937-1945)
Second Sino-Japanese War - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Japanese military yen - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Glenn]

Oh, the frustrations of not being able to properly display letters with diacritics.

 

[Toritoribe]

Yeah, it's really annoying.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/聖徳太子

The buildings pictured - if I describe them pagodas and temples, would that be near enough? Are those the correct terms?

The building in the first picture is 夢殿[Yumedono]. Wiki calls it "hall".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/法隆寺#Yumedono_.28Hall_of_Dreams.29

The tower in the second picture is indeed a pagoda, but the building before the pagoda is called 金堂[Kondō], i.e., the main hall.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/法隆寺#Pagoda
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/法隆寺#Kond.C5.8D

All the buidings belong to the temple Hōryū-ji, so it would be not appropriate to call them "a pagoda and temples".

 

[Glenn]

Yeah, it's really annoying.
Prince Shﾃ?衡oku - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I can't believe that worked. I had no idea English pages on Wikipedia would/could use Japanese text.

Well, I have no idea why that worked even though it ended up being not what you typed AND mojibake, but whatever. I'm about ready to give up on links on this forum...

 

[Mike Cash]

English pages on Wikipedia will display any sort of script or character set your computer is capable of displaying. I quite often see Arabic, Hebrew, Sanskrit, Cyrillic, Korean, etc.

 

[Glenn]

In the body, yeah, but in the URL? I don't recall ever having seen it before. Usually it's the page title in the URL, which is in English (on English pages).

 

[Simple]

Thanks! Great!

This is really useful, I'm definitely using this in the novel. Real details make for real books.

And fascinating too! I mean Prince Shotoku – the constitution, the more meritocratic system. And I guess Japan has historical continuity – documents and so on – going all the way back to that time.

I realise now that small print was too small to be legible in the photos I posted earlier. So here's the small print again. I'd be so grateful if someone could have a look. And by the way - is there a correct name for those dragons? – or are they not very important?

Thanks again!

 

[Glenn]

The first one says "The Great Japanese Imperial Government".

The second one I'm pretty sure is saying that it can be used as currency within Japan. And then after that is says that there's a heavy penalty for counterfeiting, altering, or copying it.

The third one says "Made by the Great Japanese Imperial Printing Bureau".

 

[Simple]

Thanks Glenn. That all makes sense.

 

[Toritoribe]

The animal on the last picture is not a dragon but an imaginary bird 鳳凰[hōō]. The image is from the ones which are settled on a baldachin in Kondō.

 

[cottonybin]

do they have an English version of this novel? I can't read Japanese but I am eager to learn

 

[Mike Cash]

do they have an English version of this novel? I can't read Japanese but I am eager to learn

The original poster is writing the novel. He isn't translating it. It doesn't exist yet.

 

[cottonybin]

The original poster is writing the novel. He isn't translating it. It doesn't exist yet.

Oh thanks for the info. sorry for my mistake, i thought it is already out.