The Social Agency of Postage Stamps: Japanese Postage Stamps in a Global Context By Douglas Charles Terrington Frewer Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the regulations of the award of Doctor of Philosophy by Oxford Brookes University April 2003 Revised and accepted May 2004 LIBRARY H su m a IMAGING SERVICES NORTH Boston Spa, Wetherby West Yorkshire, LS23 7BQ. w w w .bl.uk Fig 12, Pg. 44, Figs 23& 24 Pg. 61, All Figs on pgs. 63-66a incl, Figs 34,35 pg. 68, Figs 44,45 pg. 70,Fig 48,50 pg. 72, Fig 52 pg. 73. NOT DIGITISED BY REQUEST OF THE UNIVERSITY The Social Agency of Postage Stamps: Abstract This thesis is concerned with evaluating postage stamps as social agents, using Japan as a case study. For the period 1937-1988 it identifies various messages about Japanese identity implied by the symbolism used by Japanese Governments in their postage stamp designs and by their choice of special issues. It explores the extent to which those messages have been received by both Japanese and British collectors of these stamps and the reasons why their communication has been found to be largely ineffective. The study identifies the tendency of stamp users to appreciate stamps aesthetically, as art objects, rather than as symbols and the practices of stamp collecting as the major obstacles to the recognition of their symbolic messages. The view that stamp collecting is a social practice which is defined by the cultural traditions of the collectors’ societies is questioned. Evidence is offered for the ‘globalisation’ of this form of collecting and for the evolution of postage stamps from being utility items largely confined to their issuing societies into ‘collectibles’ designed for a global market. The implications of: Governments’ acceptance of this change in postage stamps’ status; the moves to privatise postal services; and the availability of new technology, both for Governments’ continued use of stamps as ‘little diplomats’ and for theories of collecting are shown to need further study. My thesis suggests that the social agency of postage stamps has been more effective in helping to establish the self-identity of their collectors as collectors rather than in giving those collectors insight into the identities of the countries issuing them and that the social agency of material objects is determined more by their users than by their producers. The Social Agency of Postage Stamps Table of Contents List of Illustrations Introduction............................................................................................................ 1 Chapter 1: The Theoretical Bases of this Study & Research Methodology 9 Chapter 2: Postage Stamps and how they are created and used............... 30 Chapter 3: Analysis of Japanese stamp issuing policies................................. 48 Chapter 4: Analysis of users’ responses to Japanese stamps......................... 84 Chapter 5: Analysis of the social significance of collecting Japanese stamps................................................................................................ 112 Chapter 6: Future discontinuities..................................................................... 132 Conclusions........................................................................................................ 140 Bibliography...................................................................................................... 149 Appendix Analysing and Listing Japanese Commemorative and Special Stamp Issues, 1946-1989........................................... 155 Previously Published Papers: “Japan Forum”, vol.14, No.l, 2002, pages 1-19 “Japan Anthropology Workshop” Newsletter No.34,2002, pages 21 -31 The Social Agency of Postage Stamps List of Illustrations Figure Page Description & Sakura Catalogue Number* as appropriate No. No. 1 16 Japan, symbolic flower [chrysthanthemum def. series].V103 2 17 Japan, same but natural flower.704 3 30 Typescript Stamp: Indian State of Sirmoor, 1878 4 31 ‘Penny Black’, UK, 1840 5 32 Alsace and Lorraine, 1870 6 32 German State of Baden, 1862 7 32 Japanese first, ‘dragon’ issue, 1871. VI 8 33 Japanese ‘koban’ series, 1876.V61 9 34 Japanese New Year issue, 1952. N7 10 34 Denmark, child welfare issue, 1941 11 34 Belgium, railway post, 1895 12 44 Japan, Expo’ 1970 souvenir sheet. C1736 13 45 CDS type cancellation 14 46 Ribbon type cancellation 15 46 CDS with advertisement type cancellation, on cover 16 50 Japan, Emperor’s Silver Wedding, 1894. Cl 17 50 Japan, ‘Cherry Blossom’ def. series, 1872-6. V9 Plate 1 54a Japan, ‘1st Showa’ series, 1937-44. 221-239 Plate 2 54a Japan, ‘Vocational’ series, 1948-50. 267-278 18 57 Russia, definitive issue, 1929-57 Plate 3 58a Japan, ‘Animal, Plant & National Treasures’, 1952-9. 301-318 Plate 4 58a Japan, ‘New Animal, Plant & National Treasures’, 1966-7. 701-714 19 59 Japan, National Parks series, Akan, 1950. P53 20 59 Japan, National Parks series, Ashizuri, 1960. P208 21 61 Japan, ‘1st Flower’ series, 1961. C328 22 61 Japan, ‘1st Fish’ series, 1966-7. C442 23 61 Japan, ‘1st Nature Conservation’ series, 1974. C654 24 61 Japan, ‘1st Endangered Native Birds’ series, 1983. C958 25 61 Japan, 4th National Athletes. Meeting, 1949. C l42 26 61 Japan, 21st National Athletes Meeting, 1966. C465-6 27 62 Russia, ‘Soviet Sports’ issue, 1938 28 63 Japan, ‘2nd National Treasures’ series, 1977. C734 29 63 Japan, ‘3rd National Treasures’ series, 1978. C742 30 63 Japan, ‘Classic Art’ series, 1970-2 [1972], C568 31 63 Japan, ‘Folk Tales’ series, 1973-5 [1974], C642 32 64 Japan, ‘Sumo Ukiyo-e’ series, 1978-9 [1978 pair]. C784-5 33 65 Japan, ‘Matsuo Basho’s Diary’ series, 1987-8 [1988 pair]. Cl 130-1 Plate 5 66a Japanese stamps illustrating ‘modernisation’ 34 68 Japan, ‘Traditional Arts & Crafts’ series, 1984-6 [1985], C1036 The Social Agency of Postage Stamps List of Illustrations Figure Page Description & Sakura Catalogue Number as appropriate No. No. 35 68 Japan, ‘Traditional Arts & Crafts’ series, [1986]. C1067 36 68 Japan, 10th Ann. [UNO] Human Rights Declaration, 1958. C286 37 68 Japan, [UN] Freedom from Hunger Campaign, 1963. C386 38 68 Japan, [UN] International Co-operation Year, 1965. C428 39 68 Japan, 20th Ann. of UNESCO, 1966. C458 40 69 Japan, ‘Enforcement of New Constitution’, 1947. C102 41 69 Japan, ‘Enforcement of New Constitution’, 1947. C103 42 70 Japan, Nomination of new Crown Prince, 1952. C233 43 70 Japan, Nomination of new Crown Prince, 1952. C234 44 70 Japan, Enthronement of the Emperor, 1990. Cl 321 45 70 Japan, Enthronement of the Emperor, 1990. Cl 322 46 71 Japan, lOthPTA Congress & Yoshida Shoin’s centenary, 1959. C303 47 72 Japan,International Letter Writing Week, 1958. C281 48 72 Japan, International Letter Writing Week, 1988. C1239 49 72 Japan, Philatelic Week, 1958. C273 50 72 Japan, Philatelic Week, 1988. C1222 51 73 Japan, New Year, 1959. N14 52 73 Japan, New Year, 1989. N45 Plate 6 82a Comparison of U.S. with Japanese Stamp Designs 53 89 Japan, woodblock postmark 54 89 Japan, early CDS postmark 55 90 Japan, first day cover and scenic cancellation 56 127 UK, ‘Penny Red’, 1841 57 133 UK, King George V standard tablet type design 58 133 France, Peace & Commerce standard type design 59 133 Portugal, Ceres standard type design 60 133 UK, 1946 Victory standard commemorative design 61 133 UK, 1935 Silver Jubilee standard commemorative design 62 134 Belgium, pre- cancelled stamp, 1912 63 135 UK and Japanese Post Office meter-printed postage franks 64 135 UK and Japanese commercial meter-ptinted postage franks * The Sakura Catalogue numbers quoted are valid only for the Yr. 2000 edition. The Social Agency of Postage Stamps 1 Introduction This research was occasioned by discussions in a seminar at Oxford Brookes University, held by Professor Joy Hendry for her graduate students of the social anthropology of Japan, about the social significance of various everyday objects. It became apparent that material objects which are insignificant in themselves but very commonplace have the potential to play a significant role in the formation and structuring of society. Despite stamps being such commonplace items in most societies I was surprised to discover that they had received very little attention from social scientists in general and seemingly none from social anthropologists. Postage stamps should be of interest to anthropologists because they are widely used in all kinds of societies and play a role in communication within and between them which is not always that intended by their creators. They are also a part of material culture in the growing ‘collectibles’ sector. Examination of the social sciences periodical literature1 and indices of the subjects of UK and US PhD theses2 over the past twenty years failed to find any evidence of anthropologists being concerned with the social roles of postage stamps. There was a scattering of articles by geographers and political scientists / historians which took postage stamp designs as their raw material but only to discuss them in a political context. For example D.M. Reid published a paper in 1984 [Reid, 1984] in which he discussed the symbolism of postage stamps in the Middle East through the numerous political changes since the Ottoman Empire issued its first stamp in 1863. He used communications theory, as developed by Lasswell, Lemer and Speier to analyse their meanings. He summarised the crucial questions as ‘who is saying what to whom and why?’ and claimed that ‘stamps resemble monuments, coins, paper money, flags, national anthems, nationalised newspapers and ambassadors