wrong picture put on message. I will try to attach the correct picture in this message to you and I need to re-post with the correct picture.

Could you post another pic of the mark? I might be able to help.

hmm…i’m an antique collector and trader but i’ve seen these writings before. If i have to make an educated guess, i’d say it’s most likely Japanese. given that it once belonged to your grandfather, i’d cherish it. place it somewhere you can see (but out of children’s reach). that way, you’ll always remember him:)

I actually speak some Japanese and those symbols do not stand for Japan. I’m going to have some of my coworkers who speak japanese take a look at them, the problem is if it is an artist name or factory location it may be very difficult for someone to translate because often their Kanji are stylized. I am not sure how old they are. I will try and get a hold of my grandma and see if she knows anything about them, but they came from my grandfather’s belongings so she may not know where he got them. He was known for buying things at yard sales, and a bit of hoarding but I thought they looked like nice so I took them after he passed before everything was cleared out by someone. No where on the plates does it have a stamp for nippon or japan (In Kanji they are the same, nippon is the japanese word for japan).

I did some checking. I just googled the word Kanji and got pages of Kanji symbols and what they mean. It is Japan. Now were these bowls obtained by a family member in Japan? If they were shipped to the States they are supposed to be marked Nippon after 1891 to 1921. After that Japan. Notice I said supposed to be. So either your bowls are before 1891 or someone purchased them in Japan or some other nearby country. I did find some dark blue marks similiar to your’s in my Japanese books but dates were unknown only that they were before 1891. Do you any idea how old they might be?