Manchukuo
Manchukuo, officially the State of Manchuria prior to 1934 and the Empire of (Great) Manchuria after 1934, was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Northeast China, Manchuria from 1932 until 1945. It was founded as a republic in 1932 afte ...
(
Japanese for "Manchu State") was a
constitutional monarchy in
Manchuria and eastern
Inner Mongolia, the region being the historical homeland of the
Manchus who founded the
Qing dynasty of China. In 1931, it was seized by
Imperial Japan following the
Mukden Incident
The Mukden Incident, or Manchurian Incident, known in Chinese as the 9.18 Incident (九・一八), was a false flag event staged by Japanese military personnel as a pretext for the 1931 Japanese invasion of Manchuria.
On September 18, 1931, L ...
and in 1932, a
puppet government was created. This was abolished in 1945 after the defeat of Imperial Japan at the
end of
World War II.
Manchukuo issued its first
postage stamps on 26 July 1932.
A number of denominations existed, with two designs: the pagoda at
Liaoyang and a portrait of Puyi. Originally the inscription read (in Chinese) "Manchu State Postal Administration"; in 1934, a new issue read "Manchu Empire Postal Administration". An orchid crest design appeared in 1935, and a design featuring the "Sacred White Mountains" in 1936.
The year 1936 also saw a new regular series featuring various scenes and surmounted by the orchid crest. Between 1937 and 1945, the government issued a variety of commemoratives: for anniversaries of its own existence, to note the passing of new laws, and to honor Japan in various ways, for instance, on the 2600th anniversary of the Japanese Empire in 1940. The last issue of Manchukuo came on 2 May 1945, commemorating the 10th anniversary of an edict.
After the dissolution of the government, successor postal authorities locally handstamped many of the remaining stamp stocks with "Republic of China" in Chinese and so forth. In addition, the
Port Arthur and
Dairen Postal Administration
overprinted many Manchukuo postage stamps between 1946 and 1949.
Image:Stamp Manchukuo 1936 10f.jpg, 1936 Manchukuo stamp.
Image:10th Anniv. of Manchokuo 2fen stamp.jpg, 10th anniversary of Manchokuo stamp.
Image:Stamp Manchukuo 1937 13f.jpg, Stamp issued with no country name inscribed for use on mail to China which did not recognize Manchukuo. Its reference to the self-declared state was the Imperial Seal.
References and sources
References
Sources
*
Stanley Gibbons
The Stanley Gibbons Group plc is a company quoted on the London Stock Exchange specialising in the retailing of collectable postage stamps and similar products. The group is incorporated in London. The company is a major stamp dealer and philat ...
Ltd, various catalogues
* Stuart Rossiter & John Flower, ''The Stamp Atlas'', W H Smith, 1989
* ''XLCR Stamp Finder and Collector's Dictionary'', Thomas Cliffe Ltd, c.1960
*
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Philately of Japan
Philately of China