Postage stamps and postal history of Japan
 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (August 2011) |
The story of
In terms of
Since 2007, the nation's
Influence of foreign post offices
Public posts would not be established until 1871; prior to that several nations maintained foreign post offices. The British maintained post offices in Yokohama (opened 1859), Nagasaki (1860), and Kobe (1869), all closing in December 1879. From 1864 on, the offices used stamps of Hong Kong. France had an office in Yokohama from 1865 to 1880, using French stamps. The United States opened post offices in Yokohama and Nagasaki in 1867, in Kobe in 1868, and in Hakodate in 1871, using US stamps, and closing in 1874.
First stamps
In 1870, Baron Maeshima visited London to learn the workings of the British postal system, and founded Japan's postal system in 1871. The first stamps were issued in April 1871, in a set of four covering the different postal rates; the intricate two-color design consisted of a pair of dragons facing towards the center, where the characters of value were printed in black. The denominations were in mon, which had already been superseded by the yen; the same basic design denominated in yen appeared in 1872, but was itself soon replaced by a new set of four designs featuring the imperial crest.
The new designs also included Latin letters for the denomination, a trend which has been generally followed since, and a chrysanthemum, which was on every Japanese stamp until 1947, in lieu of the actual visage of the emperor.
In 1876, a long
The first commemorative stamp, in 1894, marked the 25th anniversary of the wedding of Emperor Meiji and Empress Shōken. The first persons depicted were Prince Kitashirakawa Yoshihisa and Prince Arisugawa Taruhito, honored in 1896 for their role in the First Sino-Japanese War that had ended the previous year.
Twentieth century
1935 saw the first New Year's stamp, issued at the end of the year to pay postage on New Year's cards. It depicted Mount Fuji, as did the first of a long-running series of national parks issues, appearing in 1936.
A new definitive series in 1942 reflected Japan's entry into World War II, with designs including war workers and saluting aviators. They were superseded by a new series in 1945 and another in 1946, crudely printed and issued imperforate.
In accordance with UPU regulations, in 1966, Japanese started including the name "NIPPON" in Latin characters in addition to the Latin-character denomination.
From 1989 to 2007, prefecture stamps appeared. Although valid for postage throughout the country, the designs are specific to the prefecture and are only sold in the prefecture's postal region. From 2008, prefectural issues were available for sale nationwide. Moreover, the calligraphic style of the characters for "Japan Post" on each stamp were changed to reflect the style used in non-prefecture issues for most stamps.[4][5]
The postal system was reorganized in 2003 with the creation of Japan Post.
-
1958 International Letter Writing Week. -
1959 International Letter Writing Week. -
1961 International Letter Writing Week. -
1962 International Letter Writing Week.
World War II issues
During the war, Japan issued a variety of
Allied occupation
At the end of World War II, between October 1946 and February 1949, Australian stamps overprinted "B.C.O.F. / JAPAN / 1946" were used by the
Post Offices Abroad
Japan issued stamps for use at its post offices in China (1876–1922) and Korea (1876–1905).
Postal symbol
The symbol for a post office in Japan is a stylized katakana syllable te (
The symbol can be obtained by typing yuubin in a Japanese word processor and then converting it. There are several
representing a (specifically Japanese) post office, as the sign on the building.〠 (Unicode
See also
References
- ^ ISBN 9780765638557.
- ^ "Japan Postal Service 50th Anniversary commemorative postcard, 1921. - Old Tokyo". 26 May 2016.
- ^ "Japan Post Network Co., Ltd.: Private Company Information - Bloomberg". www.bloomberg.com.
- ISBN 978-0894874918.
- ^ "Japan | Stamps and postal history | StampWorldHistory". Archived from the original on 2018-04-02. Retrieved 12 August 2018.[title missing]
- ^ "Muza-chan's Gate to Japan". muza-chan.net. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
Sources
- Stanley Gibbons Ltd: various catalogues
- ISBN 0-7548-1530-7
- ISBN 0-356-10862-7
Further reading
- Casey, Ron and Kenneth Kamholz. Cumulative index to Japanese Philately, Volumes 1-60 (1946-2005). Haddonfield N.J.: International Society for Japanese Philately, 2006[1]
- Ministry of Postal Services. Japan and her postal service. Tokyo: Maejima Society, 1961 106p.
- Peplow, F.J. Plates of the Stamps of Japan 1871-76. London: F.J. Peplow, 1910. (Privately printed - 25 copies.)
- Tatsuji, Nishioka. 65 Years in Stamps: A Philatelic History of the Shōwa Period; translated and edited by Scott Gates and Robert Elliott. Limassol, Cyprus: James Bendon, 1994 ISBN 9963579671, 128p.
- Woodward, A. M. Tracey. The Postage Stamps of Japan and Dependencies. London: Harris Publications; Tokyo; Shanghai printed: S. Mayéba, 1928 (Two volumes - only 100 copies printed). Partially reprinted by Quarterman Publications in 1976.
- Yamamoto, Yokiti. Japanese Postage Stamps (for philatelists). Tokyo: Board of Tourist Industry, Japanese Government Railways, 1940 105p.
External links
- The International Society for Japanese Philately, Inc.
- Stamps of the World [1]
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