In our junk removal work in Japan, customers sometimes give us old postage stamps as gifts. Many of them are unused stamps that were purchased decades ago and carefully kept in good condition. They are fascinating items filled with history.
———————————————————
Unused stamps are often restricted from being sold on flea market websites for cash-conversion purposes, but occasionally customers kindly give them to us as gifts.
———————————————————
Even today, stamp designs featuring international events, popular anime, Sanrio characters, and famous athletes attract attention when released. However, as digital communication has become more common, people use stamps less frequently, and many modern stamps may now be created mainly for collectors.
———————————————————
Old Japanese stamps are like tiny pieces of Japanese culture captured on paper.
———————————————————
They often feature:
Japanese landscapes such as Mt. Fuji and traditional castles
Traditional culture including cherry blossoms and kimono
Distinctive Showa-era designs
Historic events such as the Tokyo Olympics
———————————————————
Not only that, commemorative stamps were once frequently issued for many events and anniversaries that are now mostly forgotten by the public.
———————————————————
Here are some stamps from nearly 50 years ago. They include beautiful photographs of Japanese traditional crafts and paintings of sumo wrestlers, making them especially interesting to look at.
———————————————————
I also found a stamp featuring “Black Cat” by my favorite Japanese painter, Hishida Shunsō (1874–1911). Although he was sometimes said to dislike cats, his cat paintings remain very popular even today. The original artwork is an Important Cultural Property displayed at Kumamoto Prefectural Museum of Art in Kyushu.
Another black-cat-themed artwork I found was “Kurofuneya” by the famous artist Takehisa Yumeji. I learned that this work was actually created as a woodblock print. It is internationally well known, so some of you may already recognize it.
———————————————————
Learning about Japan through its postage stamps can be a wonderful experience. I hope to introduce more interesting stamps in the future.
Written by Nishida Service Co., Ltd. May 13, 2026
