Sake?

[BarbaraInCalif]

Very nice...thank you Rocky!
Do you happen to know where your bottles were made?

 

[rockbot]

Hi Barbara, Japan had well established glass houses but only bottles made after the 1920's would have "made in Japan" embossed on them.

Aloha, Rocky

 

[surfaceone]

Hello Barbara,

While searching for something completely different, I came upon this site and these Chinese used sake bottles. Don'tcha just love the vagaries of googleville.

"Three Japanese pottery sake bottles dug in Chinatown in Fresno California. A similar bottle is shown in the Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum online illustrations as coming from a Chinese railroad workers' camp. These may have had Chinese usage. The two on the right have "Dai Nippon" on them, meaning "Greater Japan". Thanks to Lee Bibb for the translation. Greater Japan is a name for the Japanese Empire which dates these bottles as pre-1945. Also, as a point of interest you can see similar bottles on the far left of the second set of pictures of the Dai Loy Museum in Locke, California. Take the Dai Loy Museum link for a look. The Dai Loy was a Chinese gambling hall." From this very interesting Canadian personal Chinese Artifact Colllection.

Given the historic animosity between the Chinese and their neighbors, I am surprised to learn that the Western Chinese would have Japanese sake bottles. I guess when you're thirsty for some lovely rice wine, all bets are off.

 

[BarbaraInCalif]

Wow! Thanks for remembering this posting. Sure wish mine were painted too...

Would this Dai Nippon be connected to the Dai Nippon Brewery?

 

[surfaceone]

Hey Barbara,

I don't read Kanji or Chinese, so I'm relying on that Canadian guy, who wrote, "...Dai Nippon" on them, meaning "Greater Japan." I think he's right, or pretty close. Verifying, I found, "Japan, officially The Great Japanese Empire (Dai Nippon Teikoku)" @ this Japanese place.

I found several listings for various Japanese firms with "Dai Nippon" incorporated in their names.