We received a question from a reader through our Facebook page. The question was: “Dear Korea Stamp Society, I have in my collection this military stationery letter that to my knowledge was sent from Korea to Japan by probably Japanese soldier. Could it be possibly for you to help me identify information written on this cover as well as maybe it is possible to identify information on the cancellation? I would be happy to receive any helpful information.”
Below are scans of this item. If any of our members can provide more details, we would be very grateful. Please leave the details in the comments below.war
Sender’s address: Korea, PongSan (HwangHae Do)
Receiver’s address: Buzen no kuni ( Current part of Fukuoka, Japan)
The cancellation is arrival CDS, upper part location, lower part date
Military mail no stamp needed
To supplement Chen Yi-Fu’s message, the receiver marking reads: “Buzen/ Shimokawasoko/ 6 January (Meiji) 38/ third mail.” The receiving post office’s name is Shimokawasoko.
The 38th Year of Emperor Meiji corresponds to 1905 AD, right during the 1904-05 Russo-Japanese War. The blue indicum on the envelope simply reads “military mail.” The sender is an infantry sergeant major in the 14th rear infantry regiment.
Thanks Yi-Fu and Kenji for commenting on this article and providing excellent information. Bob