Can someone clarify these kanji for me?

[Adrian-kun]

This is from the movie 'The Last Samurai'.





These are the inscriptions found on the sword:
今
古
有
神
奉
志
士

Are they even kanji? Some people think these are hanzi (Chinese).
Even with my limited Japanese, I am more than certain that is does not mean:
'I belong to the warrior in whom the old ways have joined the new'.

[Finjas]

Hard to say. Chinese and Japanese are using the same characters, I believe.
There aren't any syllabary's symbols unique only to Japanese, so it really could be a Chinese.
But, if i remember correctly, there were pretty natural and clear oral Japanese in movie, don't think they could make a mistake like this, and put Chinese characters on Japanese sword if not on some purpose. For example to emphasize the antiquity of that Sword.
Well, it's only guessing, I know neither Japanese nor Chinese, although I'm trying to learn.

UPD
And there it is. First google result. Try to google before asking, really. It's very useful.

[Adrian-kun]

Thanks for the reply! I actually wanted to ask here. And Google isn't the be-all and end-all everyone thinks it is, especially when it comes to Asian languages. You can't just 'google' everything in life.

[Finjas]

Actually, you can. All of information is in web.
Anyway, this is not the case. It's just more reasonable to try to find an answer by yourself, especially if you have such tool as google, than to ask other people. Most of the questions which you want to be answered was already asked, as well as the most of opinions about those questions was already expressed and most of answers was already given. If you can find information on topic easily by yourself, it's not worth asking a question. That is what I think.

[Adrian-kun]

Actually, you can. All of information is in web.
Anyway, this is not the case. It's just more reasonable to try to find an answer by yourself, especially if you have such tool as google, than to ask other people. Most of the questions which you want to be answered was already asked, as well as the most of opinions about those questions was already expressed and most of answers was already given. If you can find information on topic easily by yourself, it's not worth asking a question. That is what I think.

I agree to disagree I would rather ask my questions even if they have been asked before. Also, I don't think it's very wise to rely on a megacorporation with shady business practices for information. I know people have stopped going to the library, but their overreliance on fleeting technology can't be very good either.
One of these days, we are going to have to think for ourselves without the aid of Google and wikipedia.

[Finjas]

Google is not the machine that thinks instead of people, it's just a biggest library with all availible information in it.
Don't see any problem. To rely on other people is less wise. You know, don't believe anyone, that things, conspiracies, lies etc.
Well, if talking seriously.
There is always subjective factor and the results in google search on topic won't be more or less informative than answers from forum-user. So why bother other people and wait for reply if you can find all needed information by yourself without any efforts, just typing questions on keyboard.

[Terro]

I have to add in, that every time someone asks a question, someone answers it by USING Google. If I have a question, I'll type in that exact phrase into Google. If I can't find the answer through that easily, THEN I ask others.
If people call in for tech support where I work (aka a retail store), I will sometimes literally say "I haven't heard about it before, did you Google it?" It's usually specific problems and everyone seems to think that we can fix everything (you know, before contacting the actual company or doing a quick internet search for it). The most popular question is simply calling in and asking what time we are open until. Well, unless you are out and about and don't have a smartphone , was it really that hard not to do an internet search for it? :/ It's... pretty rare nowadays for people not to have internet access (especially if they are planning on going to a place that has an electronic department) so unless the website is horribly outdated, is it really that hard to look it up? :/

[Adrian-kun]

Why go to school when you can learn everything you want by just searching online? Why leave your house when you can purchase everything you need from online stores? Why go to work when you can make money just by sitting in front of your PC? Why should we even communicate with each other when everything that we want to say has already been said?
Anyway, sorry to have bothered you. You really should have just ignored the thread.
Also, kanji are very very complicated. Few people have heard of them and even few are capable of memorising their stroke order.

[Finjas]

Why go to school when you can learn everything you want by just searching online? Why leave your house when you can purchase everything you need from online stores? Why go to work when you can make money just by sitting in front of your PC? Why should we even communicate with each other when everything that we want to say has already been said?

Well, exactly. If it wasn't necessary for society, I wouldn't do such things.
I went to school just to get a witness-paper of my education, same thing with university. I go to work because I don't have skills for suitable work-on-home with satisfying salary, and I don't have a card, so I'm have to go shopping with necessary items on foot, leaving my house.
But this is irrelevant to "Asking question when you have all sources yourself" - it's completely different things.
Personally I wasn't bothered by question, this is not what I was talking about.
Sorry, if I offend you, I didn't mean it, anyway.