Banner text

[katafei]

Can anyone tell me what's written on the banner on the wall in this pic?
(And maybe the correct name for such a banner...

[writebook]

Hmmm...

It looks like it either says, "Click here to win $100,000!" or "Meet singles in your area."

...Sorry, the lines are too squiggly and the resolution too low to tell what it is. It seems like the last 2 letters might be 古今 though.

These banners are called 掛け軸（かけじく http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kakemono）.

[katafei]

古今 would make sense, as this is a scene from Oshin and the two people in the picture have a long history together.
Thanks for that link!

Edit: I'll check if I can make a better picture when I play the disc on my pc.....

[writebook]

I found out what the banner says! It says, "Come Join Us!! Meet Friends Free SignUp"

Just kidding.

It says, 松聲無古今
松 = pine tree
聲(older way to write 声) = voice
無 = none
古 = past
今 = present

It's a Chinese sentence, and is read in Japanese as 松声に古今無し (まつかぜにここんなし).

I can't find the meaning to this sentence, although there are some web sites that sell kakejiku with this word. But I've found some Zen teachings on this page that look very similar to it. http://www.manpukuji.net/zenkotoba.html

「松無古今色」: A pine has no "old color" or "new color" (people should be like a pine and have an evergreen mind or heart, not disturbed by external circumstances)

「山色渓声古今無し」 : There is no old or new in the color of the mountains or the whispers of the valley. Likewise, the true stance of a Buddha or his teachings do not change with time? Something like that.

[katafei]

Wow, thank you very much! I was surprised to read it is Chinese....is this common for scrolls like this??
I tried registering for a Chinese forum, but I can't get through...
But thanks to your other examples and that link, the meaning is fairly clear.
ありがとうございました。