IMPERIAL JAPAN issued in 1921 this commemorative postcard to mark the 50th anniversary of their postal service. A 1.5 yen postage stamp and special red cancellation postmark dated 4 December Taisho 12 (1923), from Osaka was affixed to the postcard.
It depicted early mail delivery in the Meiji era, showing a postal worker on horseback and a horse-drawn carriage, which began in 1871, contrasting past and present postal transport methods (within the card modern transport like rail and shipping is shown).
HISTORICAL CONTEXT:
The first modern postal service connected Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka in 1871. Baron Maejima Hisoka, who proposed the system and coined the Japanese word for postage stamp (kitte), is featured in an inset photo on the original card.
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