missfool

Hi!

I have found this Japanese stamp, and would like to use it for some artwork of mine. However, before I do so I want to be 100% sure what the writing in the stamp means in English.

Please help me out! I will be so grateful.

cricket

If I'm reading this correctly (no guarantees), but it reads:

12 (十二） fight　（フィート） ninja （忍者）

It doesn't seem to be an official idiom or anything like that. However, I imagine a 12 fight ninja is not a very good one, if he's only capable of 12 fights before he dies (or changes occupations or whatever). Just my 2 cents.

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yugknup

Hi guys!

Cricket you misread, it is 'feet' (the measure) rather than 'fight'.
That'd give you '12ft ninja', but I'm not sure this is the right direction to read it in? I don't really know how to read Japanese stamps, but if this were anything else I'd expect it to be ordered 二忍者 十フィート, which would give either '2 ninja, 10ft' or '2nd ninja, 10ft' (i.e it would be ambiguous as to whether the number modifying 'ninja' is cardinal or ordinal).
Either way '12ft ninja' seems to make more sense, eh? Check it against the context of it's original use if you can, and it should be whatever fits best.
Sorry I can't be any more definite than that!

cricket

Heh. Thanks, yugknup. That'll teach me to try and read katakana before I've had my morning cup of coffee. Though I'm kinda amused by the idea of a ninja only lasting 12 fights. ;-)

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