www.925-1000.com

Wondering if anyone will shed some light on the origination and possible characters on the front of this two and three eighths inches or six centimeters wide pendant. The only markings are sterling and 950.

you are right, definitely Japanese. post war 1950's - 1960's. No idea what the characters mean.

Also the 950 means 950/1000 silver purity, slightly higher than the 925 minimum requirement for sterling silver.

Thank you very much legrandmogol. I have no knowledge of these characters but I've been viewing both Japanese and Chinese examples just to see if anything makes sense.

I was just told by a couple of Chinese ladies that the character on this pendant means happiness or blessing.

The character in Chinese is 福 and yes it does mean happiness or blessings. There are multiple meanings. Some characters, like this one, exist in both Chinese and Japanese. It has a similar meaning in Japanese but I'm not familiar with the cultural context. 福 in Chinese is a very common character found in posters and door signs.

Thank you very much for your insight on the matter. I'll try to find someone that knows how the Japanese apply this character just because the pendant was made in Japan.