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Subject:text on branches of moneytree
Posted By: francis minvielle Fri, Jul 10, 2026 IP: 82.226.118.25

Can you translate what is written on the branches and trunk of this money tree?



Subject:Re: text on branches of moneytree
Posted By: I.Nagy Sat, Jul 11, 2026

I couldn’t clearly make out some of the crowded ones, but the words are all very similar to those found on a previous, similar prints.
They features numerous virtues meant to encourage good conducts presented through puns based on the words ending with "ki(gi) (木, meaning "tree".

Trunk,
よわりめのな木 Yowarime no naki Without weekness
しひふか木 Shibukaki Good taste
しやうち木 Shojiki  Honesty
Branches, left,
かせ木  Kasegi  Earning
うらのな木 Uranonaki Straightforward
かないむつまし木 Kanai mutsumashiki Happy marriage
Branches, right,
いさきよ木 Isagiyoki Graceful
あさお木  Asaoki Early riser
しんほよ木 Shinboyoki Patient

Signature,
應需貞重画 Painted on demand by Sadashige

Inscription in the rising sun、
勝和希望之春 Shōwa kibō no haru The Spring of Victory and Hope
 
It is highly likely that 勝和 “Shōwa” is a phrase unique to the modern era — or perhaps a play on words — that literally refers to the 昭和“Shōwa” era and embodies hopes for “victory and peace (harmony)”

The phrase 長期建設“Long-Term Construction” written on the flowerpot is a positive slogan that was very commonly used in modern Japan (from the Meiji era to the early Shōwa era) to describe the process of “steadily building up” the nation, society, or even a home “over a long period of time.”

The atmosphere and elements depicted in this painting evoke not so much the style of Utagawa Sadashige (Kunikazu) from the Edo period, but rather the mood of the late Meiji era through the Taishō era, or even the early Shōwa era (pre-war).
 
In conclusion, I can say that Sadashige’s print, in keeping with the spirit of the modern era, was reprinted during the Taishō or early Shōwa periods.

Regards,
I. Nagy




Subject:Re: text on branches of moneytree
Posted By: francis minvielle Sun, Jul 12, 2026

Thank you so much!


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