NIPPON POST issued the Bunka-jin (men of culture) series of stamps featuring portraits of pioneers and celebrities who contributed great achievements in Japan and abroad. The issue was divided into two periods: the first from 1949 to 1952 and the second from 1992 to 2004 (shown here). The first was a simple monochromatic design, whereas the second was characterised by the use of colour.
The first in the second series highlighted
Takakazu
Seki, a Wasan scholar who worked for the Tokugawa Shogunate during the Edo period. He contributed to the calculation of pi, using the regular 131072 polygon to calculate up to 11 digits instead of 8 digits.
Akiko Yosano was a poet from the Meiji period. She is known for works such as "Midaregami", which expressed romantic feelings in a serious manner, "Kimi Shini Tamafu Koto Nare", which was released during the Russo-Japanese War. Her anti-war impression was strong, but she also wrote a number of songs praising war.
Toson Shimazaki was a poet active from the Meiji to Showa periods. "Hakkai" became a leading work in the domestic literary world after the Russo-Japanese War. "Before Dawn" in his later years is also highly regarded as a historical novel.
Umetaro Suzuki was an agricultural chemist active from the Meiji to the Showa eras. In 1911, he discovered vitamin B1, which was used to cure beriberi.
Kazan Watanabe, a painter in the late Edo period, was punished when the 'Bansha no Goku' suppressed speech. His troubled life lead to his confinement and he eventually committed seppuku in 1841.
Miyagi Michio was a Koto musician, who despite his blindness advocated "new Japanese music" and continued to be instrumental in this musical pursuit.
Hayami Gyoshu was a painter who was active from the Taisho era to the Showa era. He was strongly influenced by Western paintings and presented works such as "Flame Dance".
Ino Tadataka , a surveyor in the Edo period, was the first in Japan to actually survey the entire country, and in 1821, after his death, his disciples completed the 'Dai Nihon Enkai Koshi Enzu'.
Nishida Kitaro was a modern Japanese philosopher who incorporated Western philosophy and Buddhist ideas. He established a philosophy known as Nishida's philosophy, which influenced various fields. Among his writings was the "Study of Goodness".
Miyazawa Kenji is said to have been a genius of modern Japanese literature. He created works that were different from the children's literature at the time. He died of an illness at the young age of 37, but his writings became highly valued only posthumously.
Rohan Koda was a pseudo-classical novelist. In 1889, he published "Five-storied Pagoda" and established himself as a leading figure in modern literature with Ogai Mori and Koyo Ozaki.
Hiroshige Ando was one of Japan's leading ukiyo-e artists. In 1833, he released his masterpiece "Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido", and its vivid and deep blue had a great influence overseas.
Bakin Takizawa was a playwright from the Edo period. In 1842, by the time he reached the age of 28 years had already published 106 novels, among these being "Nanso Satomi Hakkenden."
Yoshie Fujiwara was a pioneering Japanese opera singer whose father was Scottish. He was active from before the war to after the war, and founded the Fujiwara Opera Company. He contributed greatly to the development of opera in Japan.
Yasunari Kawabata remains one of the top authors in modern Japanese literature. His representative works include "The Dancing Girl of Izu" and "Snow Country", and in 1941 he became the first Japanese to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. He committed suicide in 1972, at the age of 72, and his true identity remains a mystery to this day.
Hokusai Katsushika was one of Japan's leading Edo period ukiyo-e artists. His most famous work was "The Great Wave off Kanagawa." Around 1831, he published “Thirty-six Views of Mt. Fuji".
Shoen Uemura, a female painter who was active from the Meiji to the Showa era, is best known for her work "Jo no Mai". She left works such as "Mother and Child" and "Jo no Mai" and was the first Japanese woman to be awarded the Order of Cultural Merit.
Nagaoka Hantaro was a renowned physicist. This stamp marked the 50th anniversary of his death. In 1936, he laid the groundwork for Japanese physics by announcing the theory of the Saturnian atomic model.
Physicist Nakaya Ukichiro was honoured in this 100th birthday anniversary stamp. In 1936, he created the world's first artificial snow and also contributed to the development of cryogenic science.
Nakamura Teijo, a Showa female haiku poet, was homoured in a 100th birthday anniversary stamp. She wrote homely haiku from the point of view of a housewife, and although she was criticised by some, she pursued a unique style that differed from the mainstream haiku style of the time.
Motoori Norinaga, a classical researcher who was active in the Edo period, researched classical literature such as grammar and phonology, and published "Kojikiden", which added readings and annotations to "Kojiki".
The story is based on Takemoto Gidayu, the narrator of puppet theatre in the Edo period. He established with Takemoto-za and partnered with Chikamatsu to create a never-before-seen Ningyo Joruri.
Masaoka Shiki , who was adopted in the first batch of cultural stamps in 1951, was again the subject in the second series. The 1951 stamp was printed in a single colour, whereas the portrait in the second series was drawn in vivid colours using 5-color gravure printing, and a haiku poem was also incorporated in the design.
Torii Kiyonaga was an ukiyo-e artist from the Edo period. While most Cultural person stamps always included the portrait of a famous person; however, only this stamp represented his work. It depicted three women relaxing on a riverbed.
Aikitu Tanakadate was a geophysicist. After seeing the damage caused by the 1891 Nobi Earthquake, the Investigative Committee for Earthquake Prevention was established to curb the damage. He also devoted himself to the study of aeronautical engineering.
Mokichi Saito was a poet and doctor active from the Taisho era to the Showa era. In 1909, together with other poets under Masaoka Shiki, published the magazine "Araragi", expressing realistic songs closely related to daily life.
Shibasaburo Kitasato was a bacteriologist in the Taisho and Meiji periods. He published a paper on serum therapy for diphtheria and tetanus, which became highly acclaimed worldwide.
Yakumo Koizumi was a Greek researcher of Japan and a novelist. His birth name was Patrick Lafcadio Hearn,. He came to Japan to study Japanese culture after being exposed to the Kojiki in the United States. His representative works included "Koizumi Yakumo Collection" and "Kwaidan".
Isamu Noguchi (1904-1988) was a sculptor. In this postage stamp, he is pictured in front of two of his works: the ringlike sculpture “Sun at Noon” of 1969 and one of the famous 1956 rice-paper lamps that he called “Light Sculptures.” Aside from the pleasing symmetry of coupling one of his most austere works with one of his most popular, the stamp signaled Japan’s acceptance of the sculptor as a Japanese, although he was an American citizen.
Masao Koga was a composer during the Showa era. He provided music for Hibari Misora, including the hit songs "Soft" and "Sad Sake". He also founded Japan Record Awards and won the People's Honour Award posthumously.
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