The

Japanese Empire The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent forma ...

issued its first postage stamps in April 1871. In 1896 the first persons to be depicted on a stamp were

Prince Kitashirakawa Yoshihisa of Japan, was the second head of a collateral branch of the Japanese imperial family. He was formerly enshrined in Tainan-Jinja, Taiwan, under the name ''Kitashirakawa no Miya Yoshihisa-shinnō no Mikoto'' as the main and only deity. Biograp ...

(1847–1895) and

Prince Arisugawa Taruhito was a Japanese career officer in the Imperial Japanese Army, who became the 9th head of the line of ''shinnōke'' cadet branches of the Imperial Family of Japan on September 9, 1871. Early life Prince Arisugawa Taruhito was born in Kyoto in 18 ...

(1835–1895) in honor of their role in the

First Sino-Japanese War The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 1894 – 17 April 1895) was a conflict between China and Japan primarily over influence in Korea. After more than six months of unbroken successes by Japanese land and naval forces and the loss of the po ...

that ended one year earlier. The first woman and third person depicted on a Japanese postage stamp was in 1908 and 1914

Empress Jingū was a legendary Japanese empress who ruled as a regent following her husband's death in 200 AD. Both the ''Kojiki'' and the ''Nihon Shoki'' (collectively known as the ''Kiki'') record events that took place during Jingū's alleged lifetime. Leg ...

, a legendary Japanese empress who ruled following her husband's death in 200 AD. She was in 1881 already the first woman depicted on a Japanese bank note. However no actual picture of her exists. Instead an artistical representation by

Edoardo Chiossone Edoardo Chiossone (January 21, 1833 – April 11, 1898) was an Italian engraver and painter, noted for his work as a foreign advisor to Meiji period Japan, and for his collection of Japanese art. He designed the first Japanese bank notes. Biogra ...

was used for the bank note, modelled after a female employee of the Government Printing Bureau which lead to a western appearance. For the postage stamps of 1908 and 1914 the same image was used. However the printing plates were destroyed in the

1923 Great Kantō earthquake The struck the Kantō Plain on the main Japanese island of Honshū at 11:58:44 JST (02:58:44 UTC) on Saturday, September 1, 1923. Varied accounts indicate the duration of the earthquake was between four and ten minutes. Extensive firestorms an ...

and a revised design by

Yoshida Toyo Yoshida (written: 吉田 lit. "lucky ricefield") is the 11th most common Japanese surname. A less common variant is 芳田 (lit. "fragrant ricefield"). Notable people with the surname include: *Ai Yoshida, Japanese sailor *, Japanese idol, singer ...

was used for stamps issued in 1924 with a more asian appearance. A definitive series in 1942 reflected Japan's entry into World War II, with designs including war workers and saluting aviators. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

the first person depicted on a stamp was in 1946 as part of a definitive series Baron Maejima Hisoka (1835–1919), the founder of the Japanese postal service. From 1949 to 1952 a series of eighteen "Personalities of the Cultural History" was issued. In 2006 a series of 20 stamps of Japanese movies was issued depicting famous movie characters.colnect.com
Japanese Films (Masterpieces of the past)
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List

This following table lists people who have been featured on Japanese

postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the fa ...

s before 2007 in alphabetic order of their last name. The list can also be sorted by year.

Notes

Literature

* Michel catalogue ''Japan, Korea, Mongolei, Georgien, GUS in Asien 2020, Übersee Band 9.2'', 42nd edition, ISBN 978-3-95402-310-3, p. 223–677 (German)

References

External links

{{commons category, People on stamps of Japan
Famous people on stamps of Japan by year
''colnect.com''
Women on stamps of Japan by year
''colnect.com'' Japan, List of people on stamps of

Stamps Stamp or Stamps or Stamping may refer to: Official documents and related impressions * Postage stamp, used to indicate prepayment of fees for public mail * Ration stamp, indicating the right to rationed goods * Revenue stamp, used on documents to ...

Postage stamps of Japan

People on stamps Since 1840, when the Penny Black featured a profile of Queen Victoria, it has been a tradition worldwide for nations to honor individuals on their postage stamps. Typical choices include monarchs, important figures of history, politicians, cultura ...