The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1917-06-07

painted in association with tlr pennieS,
as the pronunciation of the word "shi-
Shi," wild boar is much the same as
that of the word "shishi,' lion.
The custom Of setting UP signs that
involved some sort of puzzle came into
vogue in the TOkugawa period and has
been continued down TO today. though
more often to be found in tn" provinces
than in metropolitan areas, When one
sees the picture of Il flying arrow one
knows that it is bathhuU&", us the
word for shooting an arrow (yurD
sounds like yu-iru. taking II hot bath.
Dealers in sweet potatoes write UP the
idcOgaphs for jusanci (thirtcen rD,
which means that the potatoes are
nicer than chestnuts -yOri-umHD,
ku-ri, meaning nine ri, and also chest
nuts; the SyllOgistic SgnitiCatOn being
that as thirteen ri arc greater than
nine ri, 50 sweet potatoes are inner
than chestnuts. The kite maker puts
the picture of an octopus (tako) on his
door, as the word for kit" (tQko) is
the vernacular. The dealer in bean
jam buns has q horse over his shop,
because the word for horse luma) has
the sound of Umai-umai (sWeet-SWerD,
not unlike foreign yum-yuN, for the
same meaning. Such notions may APP,
pear childish, but in the peaceful
Tolugawa days people Wcr" evidently
at loss for novelty and had to do
something to preclude ennui. Such
signs are now seldom seen.
To foreigners, Of coarse, the more
interesting signs are those c$Saying
English inscriptions, which often are
very remarkable for their eccentric at
temptS at spelling and wording. When
you see Il sign reading "rNlor of Re-
sistant Wet Cat" you know that there
is a good place for cheap watcrrroofs.
'Baggages, Sent Any Direction by IN
ternal Railway" means "n express Of
flee. Modified Milk for the scientific
Feeding of Infants and MvaIidS" is of
doubtful significance, as is also shifts
Repaired Here" No one d0ubr' the
meaning of "Horse-Bif SHOP thGGgh
why the appeal is made to English
readers no one seems to know. Goats
Made From Any Hides Yours or Ours"
sounds dangerous. but simply means
| furs will be made up from skins
brought to the shop. "EariouS Kind
Hairs" has the same meaning. ladies
! In, l,n TTnnnr
bring you blouse waist WHALE and
All Relating 1t Are Sold" seems more
ambiguous than it is.
The stranger will naturally ask why
such ridiculous wording is thus impu-
IDENTIFY stuck up before the public when
it would be so easy to have the Eng
lish corrected before being painted on
the sign. Those asking such ques-
ton but show how unfamiliar they are
with the country they have come to
visit. The man who sets himself up
as a painter of foreign signs is not go
| ing to admit that he cannot compose
! the device to be painted on them. Pos
! sibly he gets some schOolbOy tn find
the words in the English dictionary
that corresponds to the Japanese ideO-
graphs, and so he paints these words
| in any order that seems to him best.
But what of the man who pays for the
sign! Does he not object to paying
for a sign covered with Il iumble Of
mistakes and then holding them up TO
public view? Well, he does not know
the difference, and so long as he is
none the wiser the painter will not
find it profitable to seek correct Eng
gliSh for his signs.