Designs Take On Wartime Look; Stamp Issues Enter Period of Confusion
Designs Take On Wartime Look; Stamp Issues Enter Period of Confusion
1942 to 1945
With the start of the Pacific War, stamps with a wartime look began appearing. Designs depicting the war were sought from the general public.
As the war continued, shortages of materials and labor developed. The quality of the paper and glue declined and most stamps were printed by the relief printing method which required little labor.
The Takinogawa printing shop was destroyed by fire in an air-raid in April 1945, and once again printing of stamps was consigned to a private corporation. During this period of extreme confusion it was difficult to make all stamps uniform, and there were differences in the paper and color used. Some stamps did not have perforations or glue. The simple lithography printing method was reverted to during this period.
Stamps Issued Only in Taiwan
October 21, 1945
Toward the end of the Pacific War, destruction by fire of the printing shop and the decline of transportation facilities upset the balance of supply and demand for postage stamps. Therefore, the Communications Bureau (the present-day Posts and Telecommunications Bureau) in each district was asked to produce its own stamps. However, in reality the stamps never reached the production stage, except for one stamp issued in Taiwan immediately after the end of the war. This stamp had three denominations: 3 sen, 5 sen and 10 sen.
This stamp was requisitioned by the Chinese government only about ten days after it was released, so its role as a Japanese stamp was very short-lived.
Use of the Imperial Chrysanthemum Crest Abolished and Designs With a Wartime Theme Prohibited
August 1, 1946
After the end of the war in 1945, Japan's establishments began to embrace democracy and peace. In 1947 the Allied Forces general headquarters abolished the twenty-five types of stamps with militaristic designs and which were still in use at the time. A competition for a design appropriate for the new post-war era of peace was held. A stamp with the winning design was issued as part of a new group which became known as the 'New-Showa stamps.'
At this time, the characters for "Japanese Empire Post" were replaced by the characters for "Japan Post" and in 1948, use of the imperial chrysanthemum crest on stamps was abolished. From this time on, the characters appearing on the stamp were arranged in order from left to right, opposite to the previous order of the characters.
Issue of Stamps Whose Designs Depicted Industry
October 16, 1948
With the revision of postal charges in July, a group of stamps whose designs showed people involved in industry in the period of recovery was issued. These stamps became the so-called 'industry design stamps.'
From this issue on, denominations indicated on all stamps appeared in Arabic numerals only.
