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In the Beginning

My journey with Japan’s pictorial cancels began with my bike tour across Japan in 2022–2023. Initially, my visits to Japan’s post offices mirrored my European tour in 2019: I sought unique, location-specific postmarks on my philagraphs as cost-effective and widely available mementos. For Japan, I didn’t have the time to prepare any drawing before my departure but brought along papers and part of my stamp collection on the road.

Early into my journey, at the Soya-Misaki Post Office—the northernmost on Japan’s mainland—I was introduced to their exclusive pictorial cancel, called fukei-in (風景印) in Japanese. This cancel features a miniature representation of Japan’s northernmost monument and the explorer Rinzo Mamiya. Its timeless aesthetics captivated me at first sight. From that moment onward, I found myself immediately drawn to the world of fukei-in collecting.

For the remainder of my trip, I searched online for the locations of post offices offering these unique cancels and tried to pass by as many as possible in person. Visiting post offices became some sort of ritual, which transformed my whole journey into something akin to a pilgrimage—a philatelic pilgrimage—infused with a heightened sense of purpose. These intricately designed cancels binding my stamps to the drawing papers serve as more than mere keepsakes; it was a tangible link to the places I visited, capturing the essence and the character of each locale.

Japan’s Pictorial-Cancel Collecting: A Hypothesis

As my journey continued (lasting nearly 3 months), I noticed parallels between fukei-in collecting and another beloved Japanese tradition: goshuin collecting. At Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines, I often marvel at the long lineup of visitors who patiently waited for the staff to inscribe in traditional calligraphy the date of their visit, imprinted with a unique red seal representing the sacred site on their small and colorful goshuin-cho (御朱印帳). Historically, goshuin embodied a special prayer for the pilgrims who had overcame the physical and mental challenge and constituted the only record of the pilgrims’ devotion. Today, goshuin collecting has broadened to be practiced by secular enthusiasts who appreciate its role in documenting Japan’s regional diversity and cultural heritage.

Alongside goshuin, I also observed Japanese nationals’ fondness for all sort of kinen-in (記念印, literally, “commemorative (rubber) stamps”) that are souvenir marks imprinted on paper, and rubber stamps are ubiquitous to be discovered at touristic attractions, roadside stations (called 道の駅, michi-no-eki), historical sites, train stations, and more. Collecting these souvenir marks, catalogued in collecting books, encourage visitors to capture memories of each location, almost like a physical travelogue or diary entry.

I hazard to hypothesize that the origin of Japan’s fukei-in collecting is rooted in this broader and older tangible-memento-collecting tradition and may well be seen as the philatelic version thereof. In other words, fukei-in carry forward a legacy of remembrance and location-based artistry, much like the secular equivalent of goshuin and the philatelic equivalent of kinen-in.

History of Japan’s Pictorial Cancels and How to Research Them

Whether or not my hypothesis holds, we know for certain that Japan’s earliest examples of pictorial cancel date back to the early 20th century, when on 10 July 1931, Japan’s (then two) highest post offices situated halfway on Mount Fuji offered their first fukei-in.

This novel invention, formally called a “dated cancel with design related to scenic places and historical sites” (名勝史跡等に因メル図案ヲ挿入シタル通信日附印), was introduced under the then-Minister of Communication, Matajiro Koizumi (小泉又次郎, 1865–1951), the grandfather of the former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi (小泉純一郎, 1942–) who in the early 21st century spearheaded the privatization of Japan’s postal service as a centerpiece of his reform agenda.

As its initial name suggests, a fukei-in incorporates into its design pictorial elements that highlight famous local sights and/or special historical attributes of the area, which can range from natural flora / fauna to cultural festivals / folklore, etc.

The one offered by Fujisan Post Office (Fig. 8) depicts climbers in traditional straw capes and hats ascending Mount Fuji. The one offered by Fujisan-Kita Post Office (Fig. 9) highlights the mountain’s northern view, emphasizing its rugged majesty. Each of them represents its issuing post office’s surroundings—the natural wonder that serves as the most recognizable symbol of Japan. The variety and creativity of these cancels reflect the immense pride that local communities have in their heritage.

A fukei-in can only be exclusively associated with one post office and vice versa. According to my estimation, about one-third or half of post offices in Japan offer them: that is to say, approximately 8,233 to 12,350 out of 24,700 nationwide post offices carry fukei-in. Right now, there is no comprehensive online repository sanctioned by the authority showing all the fukei-in that are in current use: Japan Post’s fukei-in webpage only lists fewer than 1,000 of those that were newly designed or abolished since 2004 (please see the Afterword at the end of this article for new information on recent developments in this area).

However, I believe Japan Post’s postal clerks do have access to some sort of official information about their fukei-in—at least at the municipal or prefectural level—as other collectors, and I have photographed or been given copies of such information sheets in multiple places. It seems to be to be a relatively recent and particularly tedious endeavor to digitize / centralize such a gigantic database, so for the moment, the old ones are mostly missing from the official source.

To supplement the official repository, I rely on the following personal websites or localized databases when looking for fukei-in:

1. Pulanari Postmarks
2. Fukei-in information on the postcard’s backside
3. A Map of Japan’s Fukei-in

The first website is the most comprehensive online fukei-in database built by common folk(s). Though without high-resolution images, it contains many pieces of information regarding a specific fukei-in, including its run dates and brief description of the pictorial elements. If you look at a particular page—e.g., this page showing Sumida (Tokyo) cancels—you will see some entries contain a sentence written in red and annotated with a reference mark: ※. This mark indicates that the given cancel has been abolished and sometimes the reason for its abolishment (usually it’s too old, and the design has changed). For example, the following cancel was available between 1999 and 2020 at Sumida Midori-Cho Post Office—the post office situated the closest to Sumida Hokusai Museum in Tokyo. It was abolished because the post office was once closed. After the post office reopened, the cancel didn’t come back.

The second site is a personal blog where the administrator documents his/her collecting effort. The posts are relatively recent, and instruction on how to obtain a cancel is explained in detail (in Japanese). The third site is a collaborative Google Map initiated by my friend Rachelle, a Canadian working in Japan. It contains description of a given fukei-in in English, and the offering post office’s name and address spelled in Roman letters.

The main problem with these personal online resources is that information is not necessarily immediately up to date. The very old fukei-in that are no longer in use are usually so indicated, but those that were abolished or changed in design more recently may take a while to be updated.

I like to cross-check multiple sources before mailing in my items for cancellation, and every time I mail in, I always prepare myself that a given cancel may no longer be available. This adds an element of mystery and discovery, as finding a fukei-in can be a pleasant surprise. The thrill of spotting a new design is a reward in itself.

When researching for a fukei-in of a given theme or available in a geographical area, I tend to find more information by Googling Japanese characters than Roman letters. For people who don’t read or write Japanese language, I recommend keeping a customized list of commonly used terms—such as 風景印 (fukei-in), 切手 (postage stamp), 郵便局 (post office), etc.—and simply copy and paste them into the search field when needed.

I also frequently use Wikipedia (more so than Google Translate) to help me find the right translation for specific things, especially flora- and fauna-related. Simply go to the English Wikipedia article, then switch the language to Japanese to see the corresponding Japanese article. For instance, from this English article on flying squirrels, I know the Japanese common name is モモンガ.

Similarly, when researching the name and the location of the post office, Japanese characters usually yield more useful and direct results. Google Maps can be of great help when you want to copy and paste a place’s name in Japanese. Out of caution, I always copy a given post office’s address directly from Japan Post’s inventory, so as to prevent running into outdated information on the internet.

Types of Cancellations

Today, there are 4 types of cancellations in common use by Japan Post:

	Romanized Name	Original Name	Translation	Diameter (mm)	Color
1	Wabun-in	和文印	Japanese cancel	26	Black
2	Obun-in	欧文印	Western cancel	26	Black
3	Fukei-in	風景印	Landscape cancel	36	Vermilion red
4	Kogata-in	小型印	Small cancel	32	Vermilion red

The first two are the regular, everyday cancels used for routine mail processing. Printed in black color, they simply bear the information about the date and the place of canceling with textual elements (either Japanese characters or Roman letters) inscribed inside a 26mm circle.

The last two contain elaborate pictorial designs and are used for decorative or commemorative purposes. While fukei-in have no set usage period—they remain available indefinitely unless retired—kogata-in are usually season / event-specific with limited availability for a much shorter period of time, ranging from one day to one year. Exceptionally, a kogata-in’s usage can be extended. The Owl Post kogata-in applied to all mails posted into the Owl Post at Universal Studio Japan in Osaka, and the Ghibli Park kogata-in applied to all mails posted in the postbox at Ghibli Park, are some of these exceptions.

To this date, ever since I started collecting and researching Japan’s pictorial cancel, I know the usage of only three kogata-in have been extended beyond a year. You can find the list of recently offered kogata-in and instructions on how to request them on Japan Post’s kogata-in webpage.

Typically, fukei-in are circular and 36mm in diameter. However, a small subset of them, called “henkei-in” (変形印, literally “deformed cancel”), are irregularly shaped. The first fukei-in offered by Fujisan Post Office cited above (Fig. 8) that emphasizes the mountain’s height by extending beyond the circular frame is an example of a henkei-in. The fukei-in offered by Shiba Post Office in Tokyo (Fig. 14) is also a henkei-in; it was introduced in 1959—the second year after Tokyo Tower was inaugurated—and hasn’t changed design ever since.

(Note that my above list only contains those cancels that are in common use. There exists also shonichi-in [初日印, literally, “first day cancel”] that is a special cancel exclusively applied on a newly issued stamp on its official release date. It cannot be used to cancel any other stamp. These cancels typically feature a unique pictorial design related to the theme of the stamp. As requesting them by mail would require including a domestic cheque or postal money order to cover for the purchase of the new stamps, they are impossible to obtain for foreign nationals without the help of a local. Hence this article does not cover them.)

Tips for Collecting Japanese Cancels from Overseas

My fukei-in collecting started with my bike tour across Japan, but it didn’t end when my journey was over. While it’s more memorable to make an actual though brief interaction with the postal workers, which adds a human connection to the art I collect, I soon realized that this was not a sustainable plan.

Sometimes, I reached a remote town during the weekend when the only post office in the area was closed; other times, my schedule was simply too overwhelmed by a great many sites I wanted to visit. Hence, I started relying on a postal service called yurai (郵頼) that Japan Post offers for those who are interested in collecting Japanese cancels but unable to visit each post office. Collectors can mail their qualified items to specific post offices, requesting a fukei-in application (or any other cancel available at the post office) for free. While less personal than in-person visits, it’s a practical way to gather my missing cancels from remote or distant regions.

To do so, simply follow these steps:

1. Prepare your qualified item(s) with sufficient return postage stamp(s). For a cancel to be applied to a (combination of) stamp(s), Japan Post requests that the stamp(s)’ face value(s) be added up to the minimal value for sending a domestic postcard, which is 85 yen as of 1 October 2024.
2. Mail in your item(s) to a Japanese post office that offers the cancel you want with a written instruction, preferably in Japanese. Make sure that on the envelope you indicate clearly that the mail is intended for post office staff by inscribing after the name of the post office (XXX郵便局) a phrase such as:

• XXX郵便局（風景印押印依頼在中） ＝ (fukei-in request therein)
• XXX郵便局風景印押印ご担当者様 ＝ (to the person in charge of fukei-in)

And that’s it!

Let me share my written instruction template for requesting a post office’s fukei-in with you.

Roughly translated:

Be careful if you use some kanji that (you think) means “next to” but in Japanese that has a direction. If you use 「横」, the cancel will be applied on the horizontal direction, either on the left or the right side of the stamp. If you use 「縦」, it will be applied on the vertical direction, either on the top or at the bottom of the stamp. 「隣」 which means “in the neighborhood of” is a better word to use, but I strongly recommend that you attach a “Post-It” note on the item with a drawing, clearly stating where you want the cancel to be placed.

For example:

If on the outer envelope you sent to the post office you only wrote the name of the post office (XXX郵便局), chances are some of the staff would think that the mail is intended for poste restante (“general delivery” in English), that is for someone who will come to this post office to pick it up, but you forgot to write the recipient’s name, and they would not dare opening it to see what’s inside. If they have no way of contacting you, they will keep the mail unopened until the delay for pick up passes, then return the mail back to you.

This has happened to me a few times while I was travelling in Japan. I had a Japanese phone number but no fixed Japanese address, so on the backside of the envelopes I sent to Japanese post offices to request fukei-in, I usually inscribed my Japanese phone number. And I did get a few phone calls from some of those post offices trying to clarify who the recipient of my mail was and if they were allowed to open it. So, although it’s long to write, it’s best to address clearly your envelope to the post office staff by inscribing a short phrase shared above after the name of the post office.

Postmarking qualified items is free of charge (this is generally true for most countries in the world), so all you need to worry about is how to get enough Japanese mint stamps to make up the required postage. From a foreigner’s point of view, I think the main challenge in collecting Japanese cancels is getting enough mint stamps. Japan Post’s online shop doesn’t accept foreign credit cards or ship to overseas addresses, so buying Japanese stamps can be an issue for those who live abroad. Most of the time, Japanese mint stamps are traded on Yahoo Auction Japan! Bidding on this platform requires passing through a proxy, which increases the overall cost. About this, there is no easy solution, sadly.

The distance between the stamps affixed can be an important trick for a traditional maximaphilist who tries to comply with every guideline set by FIP, which includes the one that says only one stamp can be fixed on the image side of the card. You can play with the distance by placing the main stamp where you want, and the complementary stamp far away to request two identical cancels. Then once you receive the card, you find some way to remove the complementary stamp and its associated cancel.

Technically, it’s not wrong to present a great many small-value stamps that add up to 85 yen and request a ton of cancels on the same surface (so long as all cancels are of the same design), but it can be tedious for the clerk to carry out his/her work, and I was advised to refrain from doing so.

Last but Not Least

As my collecting goal is to develop a personal connection with a given post office by either visiting or writing to it, I am exclusively focusing on currently active designs through primary source. I am interested in Japan’s pictorial cancel not only as a form of philatelic artistry—it’s a work of art, a piece of history, and a snapshot of local culture, all captured in a frame—but also as a cherished reminder of the human touch that is a poignant contrast to today’s digital age. This way, my cancel collection becomes some sort of ‘travel diary’ or ‘correspondence record,’ which adds a bit of meaning to my collecting effort.

However, there are many ways to approach fukei-in collecting, such as by theme, by region, or by tracking different designs from a single post office over time which would require buying abolished fukei-in from secondary source. Ultimately, the joy lies in finding a method that resonates with your interests and preserves the memories you hold dear.

Afterword

On 29 November 2024, after the completion of this article but before its publication in the TSF Newsletter, Japan Post announced that its fukei-in repository now contains all the fukei-in that are currently active, plus some that were newly abolished, which is 12,084 entries as of 29 November 2024 (see Fig. 19 below).