Japan Post 2025 has reaffirmed it’s still one of the best at designing exquisite, tiny cancels. For any cancel hounds out there, if you are looking for a new country to explore, Japan with it’s beautiful postmarks should be your first stop.
Complete Renewal of 3 Bank of Japan notes, Posukuma, Autumn, International Correspondence Week and their Year of the Snake cancels show a sampling of the care applied to each design. Consider how small each is and then examine the detail in each. The only country that competes with Japan is Peru, which will be the focus of my next couple of posts. I’ll include a link here when I finally get them up.
Last year I wrote: “’I’m already anticipating next year’s program. More cats? More French co-designs? Who knows. But let’s enjoy 2024 first.” Here we are in 2025 and yes indeed, more French co-designs. The March Invitation to the Philatelic Hobby Series features both a French illustrator and classic examples of French design. So far no cats but I’m sure they won’t disappoint.
We do have food stamps already! Oh the food! It’s easy to make me happy. Chuck some food, a few pioneer airplane stamps and cats in my direction and I’ll be content for hours.
Enjoy Japan 2025 in all it’s beauty.
Cheers,
Catpaw
January
Greetings (Simple)
annual series
1 stamp, sheets of 50
offset
The stamp image is a postal motorbike commonly seen around Japan.
Designer: 山田 泰子 Yasuko Yamada
Release date: January 8, 2025
Nature’s Record
5th in series
10 stamps, 2 cancels
offset
- Tai (sea bream)
- Kotakanoha (small hawk-wing)
- Shii (sea bream)
- Kazami large edible crab
- Hand Kurage The tag says “Hand Kurage,” but it’s an edible Bizen jellyfish.
- Uki The tag says “Uki (floating wood),” but it’s actually a sunfish
- Shima-Hagi The tag says “Shima-Hagi”, but this is an adult of the angelfish
- Porcupine or juvenile puffer fish
- Ranchu The tag says “Ranchu Muhire”. This is a variety of goldfish, the Ranchu. Its distinctive feature is that it has no dorsal fin
- Lionfish in a Raincoat The tag says “Lionfish in a Raincoat.” It is a lionfish. Its fins look like a raincoat, hence the name.
- Yellowtail in the top margin
- The background is a pattern inspired by pine needles.
Details from Japan Post info leaflet
This set of stamps was taken from Takamatsu Matsudaira Family Museum Illustrations, part of Kagawa Prefecture’s Designated Tangible Cultural Property. The book of illustrations has 723 images of various sea creatures, including fish, shellfish and more.
Designer: 星山 理佳 Rika Hoshiyama
Release date: January 22, 2025
February
Spring Greetings
annual series
2 sheets of stamps 10 x 2 per sheet, 2 cancels
offset
This is Japan Post’s annual cheerful spring stamp.
Designer: 玉木 明 Akira Tamaki
Tamaki has been designing stamps for over 34 years, with over 100 stamps created. He is one of 8 stamp designers employed by Japan Post .
Release date: February 5, 2025
Delicious Nippon – Focus on Osaka
6th in series
2 sheets of 10 different stamps, 2 cancels
offset
Sheet one – traditional sweets and snacks:
- Instant ramen, pot
- Takoyaki
- Pork buns, mustard, popsicles
- Beef cutlet sandwiches, mixed juice
- Ice cream monaka, coffee
- Grilled squid, chilled syrup
- Senbei, candy
- Korean rice cakes
- Rice crackers, mitarashi dango
- Walnut rice cakes, tea, kelp
Second sheet – local cuisine:
- Boxed sushi
- Mixed rice and Senba soup
- Kitsune udon
- Niku-sui and egg on rice
- Okonomiyaki
- Senshu water eggplant pickles and conger eel stir-fry
- Tetchiri
- Speciality curry
- Offal and grilled meat
- Kushikatsu
Each region of Japan has its own unique food culture rooted in the land. Not only the wide variety of local cuisines, which are the accumulation of the wisdom of our ancestors, but also the variety of ingredients and cooking utensils that have been cultivated in the natural environment of the region, are also attractive aspects of Japanese food culture.
…
Osaka has long been the economic center and has played the role of a gateway to welcome immigrants from the continent. Especially during the Edo period, when it was called the “kitchen of the world,” it was a unique “merchant city” that attracted attention and was full of vitality with many ingredients from all over the country.
The kelp brought from Hokkaido at this time also became the catalyst for the development of Osaka’s dashi culture. Osaka has long been blessed with seafood, and has a rich seafood cuisine. Furthermore, taking advantage of the region’s high-quality wheat production, various flour-based dishes (okonomiyaki, takoyaki, ikayaki, kushikatsu, udon, etc.) have been invented and are now praised for their deliciousness both at home and abroad.
The idea of ”cleaning up” dishes that make full use of ingredients, as exemplified by Senba-jiru, is also an ingenious idea unique to Osaka that should not be overlooked. In addition, Osaka has played an important role in supporting Japan’s kitchen culture, as seen in the creation of many other convenient dishes such as popsicles and ice cream monaka that incorporate the flavors of other countries, the famous curry, beef cutlet sandwiches, instant ramen, and pork buns, as well as the birth of many home appliance and towel manufacturers. Furthermore, when talking about Osaka’s food culture, it is important to remember that while it has been an outlet for various cultures, it has always been considerate of local ingredients and “people.”
The history of food has developed while placing importance on efficiency, and in pursuit of smiles that make people say “That’s delicious,” and this has supported the spirit of Osaka, the city of gourmets. It can be said that our mission as people living in the Reiwa era is to be considerate of the people in front of us and to strive to reconsider the thoughts of our predecessors who invented various dishes and specialties.
Details from Japan Post info leaflet
Designer: 吉川 亜有美 Ayumi Yoshikawa
Release date: February 12, 2025
March
My Travel Stamps
10th in series
2 sheets of 10 stamps, 2 cancels
offset
Sheet one:
- Night view from Shirotai Ranch
- Mt. Yoyotei
- Sea urchin and salmon roe rice bowl
- Otaru Canal
- Odori Park
- Curry soup
- Sunflower Village in Hokuryu
- Red fox
- Sheep grazing
- Cape Soya
Sheet two:
- Hachimanzaka Hill
- Goryokaku
- Japanese long-tailed tit
- Sapporo Clock Tower
- Farm Tomita
- Asahikawa City Zoo
- Cow grazing
- Cheese and milk
- Kushiro Marshland
- Higashimokoto Shibazakura Park
… the stamps express “personal scenery found on a travel destination,” such as scenery of tourist spots captured from the author’s own perspective, lifestyle and culture, and local specialties.特殊切手「My旅切手シリーズ第10集」の発行
Designer: 楠田 祐士 Yuji Kusuda
Release date: March 5, 2025
Invitation to the Stamp Collecting – Philatelic Hobby Series
new series
3 stamps on souvenir sheet, 2 cancels
offset
The focus of this new series is to encourage people to collect stamps. The first set focuses on the French art and decorative style called Art Nouveau.
Art Nouveau was aimed at modernizing design, seeking to escape the eclectic historical styles that had previously been popular. Artists drew inspiration from both organic and geometric forms, evolving elegant designs that united flowing, natural forms resembling the stems and blossoms of plants. The emphasis on linear contours took precedence over color, which was usually represented with hues such as muted greens, browns, yellows, and blues. The movement was committed to abolishing the traditional hierarchy of the arts, which viewed the so-called liberal arts, such as painting and sculpture, as superior to craft-based decorative arts. The style went out of fashion for the most part long before the First World War, paving the way for the development of Art Deco in the 1920s, but it experienced a popular revival in the 1960s, and it is now seen as an important predecessor – if not an integral component – of modernism.
Art Nouveau Movement Overview | TheArtStory
Prominent French architect and designer. The stamp features Guimand’s architectural gem the entrance to the Abbesses station in Paris – the cast iron and glass covered Metropolitan entrance is one of two remaining “dragonfly” entrances still standing. It is also the focus of one of the cancels.
A detail from Guimard’s entrance was featured in a French stamp in 1994 by designers Jean-Paul Veret-Lemarinier & Pierrette Lambert
Louis Majorelle (1959-1926)
Majorelle was a decorator and furniture designer and founding member of École de Nancy.
Majorelle set up a workshop solely to produce bronze, copper or wrought iron ornaments for his furniture. From 1898, experimental metalwork became an integral part of Majorelle’s style. So it is not surprising that the decisive element in the Daum-Majorelle partnership which was sealed in 1903 was Majorelle himself. It was he who designed the wrought iron or bronze stands, and chose the form, decoration and size of the various types of lamps. Table Lamp – Louis Majorelle | Musée d’Orsay
The stamp, and second cancel, displays one his 1903 bronze water lily globe lamps. Majorelle’s work appeared on a French stamp in 1994 (part of the same set by as the Guimard). Drawing-room Table by Louis Majorelle 1902
Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939)
Mucha was a Czech artist living in Paris during the height of the Nouveau period.
During the early 1890s, Mucha enjoyed modest success as a book illustrator, but his first poster design for Sarah Bernhardt, Gismonda (1894), changed his life forever. The poster, featuring the full-standing figure of the actress, appeared on Parisian hoardings on New Year’s Day 1895, and made a great sensation in the Parisian art world; the success transformed him overnight into one of the hottest new talents, sought after by
major publishers and art galleries. Mucha became Bernhardt’s exclusive designer and artistic advisor; he designed all her iconic posters, which established her image as ‘the Divine Sarah’. In collaboration with Champenois, he created over 100 designs for posters, decorative panels, calendars and postcards between 1896 and 1904. Coined ‘le style Mucha’, his designs became a hallmark of Art Nouveau.
Mucha’s art has appeared on many stamps. The Zodiac, the painting featured in this series, appeared on a Czech Republic stamp in 2010 as part of their 150th Birth Anniversary Alfons Mucha celebration. Zdeněk Ziegler designed this stamp.
The image in the sheet margins is another Mucha work – The Reverie.
The illustrator for this set was French cartoonist and illustrator Stéphane Levallois. He still draws and colours everything by hand and has created stamps for French post LaPoste.
Designer: 丸山 智 Satoshi Maruyama
Release date: March 19, 2025
April
Flower Colors
4th series
Carnation, Dendrobium, Olive, Hydrangea and Calla lilies
Designer: 星山 理佳 Rika Hoshiyama
Release date: April 2, 2025
Japan World Exposition 2025 (Osaka-Kansai Expo)
The cancels feature the 2025 Expo’s mascot Myakumyak.
(1) Venue perspective 1
(2) Venue perspective 2
(3) Large roof ring
(4) Japan Pavilion
(5) Myakumyak and Osaka Castle
(6) Myakumyak holding kitsune udon
(7) Kamigata Kamigata Myakumyak performing Rakugo
(8) Myakumyak and Mt. Fuji
(9) Myakumyak the sushi chef
(10) Myakumyak riding on a houseboat
Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan Official Website
Designer: 楠田 祐士 Yuji Kusuda
Release date: April 11, 2025
Philatelic Hobby Week
2 stamps, 2 cancels, sheets of 10
offset
This is a long standing series dedicated to Philately Week, Kitte Shumi Shukan, with the first stamps appearing in 1947 – Mt Fuji after Hokusai painting “Thunderstorm below Mountain”.
The week focuses on promoting the cultural and artistic beauty of stamps. 2025 features two stamps:
Jo-no-mai (Introductory Dance performed in a Noh Play) – You can learn more about this style of dance here the-noh.com : Introducing the world of Noh : Noh Dance.
Painting by Uemura Shoen
Maiko in a Garden – Painting held by the National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo. Painting by Tsuchida Mugi.
Both these images previously appeared on Philatelic Week stamps, Jo-no-mai in 1965 and Maiko in a Garden in 1968.
The earlier stamps were printed using intaglio, and the second set with offset. using intaglio print. Japan Post provided an excellent blowup comparing the two styles for comparison.
Designer: 玉木 明 Akira Tamaki
Release date: April 18, 2025
May
Happy Greetings
2 sheets of 10, 2 cancels
The sets show bird and plants in lacey patterns. These “happy” stamps are traditionally used for thank you and congratulations stamps.
The original design used standard “bouquet illustrations” , but the designer opted to use a “lace-like” pattern instead, letting the annual greetings stand out from the standard flower bouquet stamps. Five different designs were considered, and finally narrowed down to two styles featuring the delicate pattern, seen in the second set below. From there the stamps were refined to show the more stylised “lace” patter. Images courtesy Japan Post.
First draft design
Later Greetings design
Designer: 貝淵 純子 Junko Kaibuchi
Release date: May 7, 2025
National Land Greening (Saitama Prefecture)
5 stamps on sheets of 10, 1 cancel
offset
- Red carp, horse chestnut
- Hinoki, cedar, forest image
- Various plant and animal images
- Quercus serrata, forest image
- Sugar maple, wild cherry tree
Designer: 楠田 祐士 Yuji Kusuda
Release date: May 21, 2025
150th Anniversary of Meteorological Services
“150 Years of Continuing to Walk Toward Preventing Disasters and Protecting the Future”
10 stamps on sheet, 2 cancels
offset
The Tokyo Meteorological Observatory began its services June 1, 1875 (Meiji 8).
- Satellite image from June 1, 2016
- Weather chart from June 1, 2016
- First image from Himawari 9
- JMA office and outdoor field when it was in Motoeicho, Kojimachi Ward
- JMA Toranomon office and front entrance plaque
- First supercomputer
- Image of Wiechert seismometer and seismic waveform
- NAPS11 (supercomputer)
- Mobile observation of volcanoes
- Ryofu-Maru (marine weather observation vessel)
- Sheet margin: JMA mascot character
“Harerun”
The first cancel features the Logo from the Tokyo Meteorological Observatory
The Japan Meteorological Agency will celebrate 150 years in the 7th year of Reiwa (2025) since its predecessor, the Tokyo Meteorological Observatory, began observation operations in 1875 (Meiji 8). We are planning various events to let as many people as possible know about the history of the development of meteorological services and how we are moving forward into the future.
As part of this effort, we solicited designs and copies from Japan Meteorological Agency staff and individuals belonging to weather-related organizations, and we have selected a logo and catch phrase to commemorate the 150th anniversary of meteorological services from among the entries.
The logo and catch phrase will be widely used at various events at the Japan Meteorological Agency, as well as in media such as press releases and lecture materials, and will be used as a tool to increase the momentum for the 150th anniversary of meteorological services in the meteorological industry and society as a whole.
150th Anniversary of Meteorological Services | Japan Meteorological Agency
Designer: 丸山 智 Satoshi Maruyama
Release date: May 28, 2025
June
Summer Greetings
10 stamps on 2 sheets of 10, 2 cancels
offset
The summer companion piece to the Spring Greetings.
Sheet one:
- Barley tea
- Eggplant
- Mountain climbing
- Coconut
- Tomato
Sheet two:
- Sunflowers
- Wind chimes
- Water yo-yos
- Yachts
- Playing with toys
Designer: 玉木 明 Akira Tamaki
Release date: June 11, 2025
Greeting (Life & Flowers)
2 sheets of 10 stamps, 2 cancels
offset
Sheet one:
- Lemon
- Pomegranate
- Pine nuts
- Apple
- Tomato
- Okra
- Japanese pepper
- Crown chrysanthemum
- Peas
- Shiso
Sheet two:
- Burdock root
- Lily root
- Asparagus
- Cabbage
- Radish
- Onion
- Potato
- Lettuce
- Lotus root
- Carrot
Designer: 吉川 亜有美 Ayumi Yoshikawa
Release date: June 25, 2025
July
The 50th Anniversary of the Establishment of the Traditional Buildings Preservation District System
1 sheet of 10 stamps, 2 cancels
offset
In 1975, through an amendment to the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties, a system of “Preservation Districts for Groups of Traditional Buildings” was introduced in order to protect historic cities, towns and villages in Japan, including castle towns, post towns, and towns built around shrines and temples. This system enables municipalities to designate “Preservation Districts for Groups of Traditional Buildings.” Municipalities also develop a plan based on the municipal preservation ordinance to carry out preservation projects. Among the Preservation Districts, those of national significance are classified as “Important Preservation Districts for Groups of Traditional Buildings” by the national government upon receiving an application from a municipal government.
Preservation Districts for Groups of Traditional Buildings | AGENCY FOR CULTURAL AFFAIRS
More than 26,400 traditional buildings have been protected through this initiative.
Designer: 貝淵 純子 Junko Kaibuchi
Release date: July 2, 2025
Sea Creatures
9th series
Release date: July 7, 2025
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