Cute stamps + anyone read Japanese? :)

I picked up these super cute stamps in Tokyo, but I have no idea what they say!  Does anyone out there read Japanese?  Or know someone who does?  I emailed some friends, but haven’t heard back yet…

jstamps1

jstamps2

You can click on the second one to make it larger.

I don’t like to a use a stamp if I don’t know what it says — ha ha.   So these cuties remain uninked…gotta fix that.

A card made with the stamp of your choice will be yours if you can help me out.  Arigato!

Edited at 7:20 pm:  Just heard back from a friend, I asked him if it is okay to post his reply here because he gave a really great explanation!  Thanks to Sheryl and her friend too — I owe you all a card!

Edited at 5:39 pm on Jan 17: I added a comment with my friend’s reply — he gave a really great explanation!  :)

7 Replies to “Cute stamps + anyone read Japanese? :)”

  1. Hi Lisa,
    First, i have to say you are such a talented and creative artist.  I love your work and style.  Simple & clean!!!  Thank you for sharing your work of arts with us.  I saw your post and i’m hoping i can help you.  I have a good friend who’s from Japan and can read & write fluently.  I emailed her and am just waiting for a response.  Will get back to you. :0)  By the way, these are really cute stamps, I love anything japanese!

    Good Luck,
    Sheryl

  2. One of my friends is living in Japan and she got it all translated! I need to make her a thankyou card heh. Here it is:

    Here is what they say:
    (top picture)
    * waving hamster – mimashita – “I have seen it” or “I looked at it”
    * rabbit in the cup with clover – otsukare sama desu… – “Thank you for the hard work” (this doesn’t really translate well into English, but we say it to coworkers when they leave the office before us)
    * whispering hamster – go soudan – “lets talk” “I have something to talk to you about” :)
    (bottom pic)
    * rabbit with cup & two dogs talking – same as rabbit in cup with clover above.
    * waving dog – same as waving hamster from above
    * rabbit with telephone – odenwa orimashita – “Telephoned”

  3. That is so cute!  Even cuter now that I know what they mean!  Awwww!

  4. Oh those stamps are so cute!  Did you go to the Loft?  Tokyu Hands?  I was going to ask my daughter who can read and translate but I see it’s been already done.
    Now on to using them!  Have fun!

  5. Hi Donna!  I did get to go to Tokyu Hands — in Shibuya — crazy!  :)

    My favorite place was Itoya in Ginza tho — I went there twice, ha ha!

  6. I asked my friend Keiichi if it was okay to post what he sent me and he said yes!  So here goes:

    Some of those are actually tough to translate. So instead of giving you a single English word, I’ll tell you in what situation those words are used.

    First picture, top: MIMASHITA “I saw it”
    First picture, bottom left: OTSUKARESAMA DESU with SAMA is written in
    Kanji (See explanation below)
    First picture, bottom right: GOSOUDAN “(have/need your) consultation”

    Second picture, top: ODENWA ARIMASHITA”You had a phone call”
    Second picture, bottom left: OTSUKARESAMA (See explanation below)
    Second picture, bottom center: MIMASHITA “I saw it”
    Second picture, bottom right: OTSUKARESAMA DESU  with TSUKA is written in
    Kanji (See explanation below)

    OTSUKARESAMA:
    TSUKARE means the verb “tire” and SAMA is a honorific of -san, so the
    direct Japanese translation would be “Mr./Ms. Tired”.  It is used when we
    show appreciation of work done by others.
    Case 1: The colleagues greet each other at the end of day. You say
    “Otsukaresama” followed by “Good-bye”, “See you tomorrow”, or “Don’t work too late” (to those staying).
    Case 2: You visit your parents living far away after a long drive or flight. The welcoming parents offer your a cup of tea and say “Otsukaresama” just like “Welcome home”.
    Case 3: A friend came back from a tennis tournament. You could use
    “Otsukaresama” to mean “Good job” for winning and “Tough luck” for losing depending on the result.

    BTW, you may notice the three stamps are similar but slightly different versions. They all means the same thing.

  7. Such CUTE stamps!!!

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