The Japanese Empire issued its first postage stamps in April 1871. In 1896 the first persons to be depicted on a stamp were Prince Kitashirakawa Yoshihisa (1847–1895) and Prince Arisugawa Taruhito (1835–1895) in honor of their role in the First Sino-Japanese War that ended one year earlier. The first woman and third person depicted on a Japanese postage stamp was in 1908 and 1914 Empress Jingū, a legendary Japanese empress who ruled following her husband's death in 200 AD.[1] She was in 1881 already the first woman depicted on a Japanese bank note. However no actual picture of her exists. Instead an artistical representation by Edoardo Chiossone was used for the bank note, modelled after a female employee of the Government Printing Bureau which lead to a western appearance.[2] [3] For the postage stamps of 1908 and 1914 the same image was used. However the printing plates were destroyed in the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake and a revised design by Yoshida Toyo was used for stamps issued in 1924 with a more Asian appearance.[4] [5] A definitive series in 1942 reflected Japan's entry into World War II, with designs including war workers and saluting aviators.
After World War II the first person depicted on a stamp was in 1946 as part of a definitive series Baron Maejima Hisoka (1835–1919), the founder of the Japanese postal service. From 1949 to 1952 a series of eighteen "Personalities of the Cultural History" was issued.[6] [7] In 2006 a series of 20 stamps of Japanese movies was issued depicting famous movie characters.[8] [9]
This following table lists people who have been featured on Japanese postage stamps before 2007 in alphabetic order of their last name. The list can also be sorted by year.
| Name | Year | Profession / Notability | Stamp(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akihito (*1933) | 1959 | 125th Emperor of Japan, reigning from 1989 to 2019. The stamps were issued on April 10, the day of his marriage with Michiko Shōda. | ||
| Akutagawa Ryunosuke (1892 – 1927) | 1999 | Writer; Japan's premier literary award, the Akutagawa Prize, is named after him | ||
| Ando Hiroshige (1797 – 1858) | 1997 | Painter (ukiyo-e artist) | ||
| Arashi Kanjūrō (1903 – 1980) | 2000 | Actor | ||
| Arisugawa Taruhito (1835 – 1895) | 1896 | Royal Family; career officer in the Imperial Japanese Army | ||
| Atsumi Kiyoshi (1928 – 1996) | 2000 | Actor famous for his character in the series Otoko wa Tsurai yo | ||
| 2006 | ||||
| Bandō Tsumasaburō (1901 – 1953) | 1999 | Actor | ||
| Beethoven, Ludwig van (1770 – 1827) | 2005 | German composer | ||
| Buchanan, James (1791 – 1868) | 1960 | American President | ||
| Chishū Ryū (1904 – 1993) | 2006 | Actor appearing in over 160 films and about 70 television productions | ||
| Clark, William S. (1826 – 1886) | 2001 | Professor | ||
| Chiossone, Edoardo (1833 – 1898) | 1994 | Italian engraver and painter who designed the first Japanese bank notes | ||
| Daidouzan | 1979 | Sumo Wrestler | ||
| Doi Takao (*1954) | 2000 | Astronaut, engineer and veteran of two NASA Space Shuttle missions | ||
| Enomoto Kenichi (1904 – 1970) | 2000 | Actor, singing comedian known by his stage name Enoken | ||
| Fujiwara Yoshie (1898 – 1976) | 1998 | Opera singer who established the Fujiwara Opera | ||
| Fujiwara no Kamatari (614 – 669) | 1939[10] | Founder of the Fujiwara clan | ||
| 1945 | ||||
| Fujiwara no Teika (1162 – 1241) | 2005 | Waka poet | ||
| Fukada Kyūya (1903 – 1971) | 2003 | Mountaineer and writer | ||
| Fukuzawa Yukichi (1835 – 1901) | 1950 | Teacher, translator, entrepreneur and political theorist; founder of Keio University, a newspaper and the Institute for Study of Infectious Diseases; He also appears on the 10,000 yen bank note | ||
| 1958 | ||||
| Furuhashi Hironoshin (1928 – 2009) | 2000 | Swimmer | ||
| Futabayama Sadaji (1912 – 1968) | 2000 | Sumo Wrestler | ||
| Gotokudaiji no Sadaijin | 2006 | |||
| Hamada Mitsuo | 2006 | Actor | ||
| Hanawa Hokinoichi (1746 – 1821) | 1996 | Japanologist | ||
| Hanaoka Seishū (1760 – 1835) | 2000 | Physician | ||
| 2004 | ||||
| Hara Setsuko (1920 – 2015) | 2006 | Actress | ||
| Hayami Gyoshu (1894 – 1935) | 1994 | Painter | ||
| Hayashi Fumiko (1903 – 1951) | 2000 | Novelist | ||
| Higuchi Ichiyō (1872 – 1896) | 1951 | Author; Higuchi Ichiyō was the pen name of Natsu Higuchi, also known as Natsuko Higuchi. Specializing in short stories, she was one of the first important writers to appear in the Meiji period. | ||
| 1981 | ||||
| Hiraga Gennai (1729 – 1780) | 2004 | Inventor | ||
| Hirata Mitsuru | 2006 | Actor | ||
| Hishida Shunsō (1874 – 1911) | 1951 | Painter from the Meiji period. Hishida Shunsō was the pseudonym of Hishida Miyoji. He played a role in the Meiji era innovation of Nihonga ("Japanese-style paintings"). | ||
| Hitomi Kinue (1907 – 1931) | 2000 | Athlete; Japanese track and field athlete and first Japanese woman to win an Olympic medal | ||
| Hornfischer, Kurt (1910 – 1958) | 1952 | German heavyweight wrestler | ||
| Hozumi Nobushige (1855 – 1926) | 1999 | Statesman, legal expert | ||
| Ichikawa Danjūrō IX (1838 – 1903) | 1950 | Kabuki actor, one of the most successful and famous of the Meiji period | ||
| Ichikawa Danjūrō XI | 1991 | Kabuki actor | ||
| Ichikawa Ebizo (1741 – 1806) | 1956 | Kabuki actor | ||
| 2000 | ||||
| Ichikawa Komazo III | 1988 | Kabuki actor | ||
| Ichikawa Raizo (1931 – 1969) | 2006 | Actor | ||
| Ii Naosuke (1815 – 1860) | 1958 | Daimyō of Hikone (1850–1860) and Tairō of the Tokugawa shogunate | ||
| Ino Tadataka (1745 – 1818) | 1995 | Surveyor, cartographer | ||
| Iseno Taifu | 2006 | |||
| Ishihara Yujiro (1934 – 1987) | 1997 | Actor, singer | ||
| Ishikawa Goemon (1558 – 1594) | 1992 | Ninja warrior | ||
| Iwai Hanshiro | 1984 | |||
| Iwai Kumejiro | 1988 | |||
| Iwamigata | 1979 | |||
| Iwasaki Yataro (1835 – 1885) | 1986 | Founder of Mitsubishi Company Group | ||
| Izumo no Okuni (ca. 1578 – 1613) | 1989 | Founder of Kabuki | ||
| 2003 | ||||
| Jingū< | --(290-389)--> | 1908 | Empress | |
| 1914 | ||||
| 1924 | ||||
| Jinmaku (1829 – 1903) | 1978 | |||
| Jitukawa Nobuwaka II | 1992 | |||
| Kamiya Jihee | 1991 | |||
| Kanaguri Shizo (1891 – 1983) | 1999 | Marathon runner | ||
| Kaneko Misuzu (1903 – 1930) | 2003 | Poet | ||
| Kanō Hōgai (1828 – 1888) | 1951 | Painter of the Kanō school | ||
| Kataoka Nizaemon XIII | 1992 | |||
| Katsushika Hokusai (ca. 1760 – 1849) | 1999 | Painter | ||
| Katsura Beicho III | 1999 | Rakugo Teller | ||
| Katsura Bunraku VIII | 1999 | Rakugo Teller | ||
| Kawabata Yasunari (1899 – 1972) | 1999 | Writer | ||
| 2000 | ||||
| Kawakami Otojiro (1864 – 1911) | 1999 | Actor | ||
| Kawakami Sadayakko (1871 – 1946) | 1999 | Actress, Business woman | ||
| Kazama Morio (*1949) | 2006 | Actor | ||
| Keller, Helen (1880 – 1968) | 2000 | Deafblind American author | ||
| Kimura Hisashi (1870 – 1943) | 1952 | Astronomer | ||
| Ki no Tsurayuki (872 – 945) | 1993 | Author | ||
| Kishi Keiko (*1932) | 2000 | Actress | ||
| 2006 | ||||
| Kitano Takeshi (*1947) | 2006 | Film director, comedian | ||
| Kitashirakawa Yoshihisa (1847 – 1895) | 1896 | Prince | ||
| Kitasato Shibasaburō (1853 – 1931) | 2003 | Physician and bacteriologist | ||
| Kobayashi Akira (*1938) | 2006 | Actor, singer | ||
| Kobayashi Takiji (1903 – 1933) | 2000 | Author | ||
| Kōda Rohan (1867 – 1947) | 1997 | Author | ||
| Koga Masao (1904 – 1978) | 2004 | Composer | ||
| Kokontei Shincho V | 1999 | Rakugo Teller | ||
| Komura Jutaro (1855 – 1911) | 1999 | Statesman, diplomat | ||
| Kondo Makoto | 1986 | Educator | ||
| Koizumi Yakumo (1850 – 1904) | 2004 | Author | ||
| Kumagai Naozane (1141 – 1208) | 1992 | Bushi | ||
| Kume Danjo | 1991 | |||
| Kunisada Chuji (1810 – 1851) | 1999 | |||
| Kuroki Hitomi (*1960) | 2006 | Actress | ||
| Kurosawa Akira (1910 – 1998) | 2000 | Film Director | ||
| Kyō Machiko (1924 – 2019) | 2006 | Actress | ||
| Maejima Hisoka (1835 – 1919) | 1927 | Statesman, politician, businessman, founder of the Japanese postal service | ||
| 1946 | ||||
| 1946 | ||||
| 1947 | ||||
| 1951 | ||||
| 1952 | ||||
| 1961 | ||||
| 1968 | ||||
| 1985 | ||||
| 1994 | ||||
| Masako, Crown Princess of Japan (*1963) | 1993 | Princess | ||
| 2000 | ||||
| Masaoka Shiki (1867 – 1902) | 1951 | Author, poet and literary critic in Meiji period Japan; Masaoka Shiki is the pen-name of Masaoka Noboru. Shiki is considered of major importance in the development of modern haiku poetry. | ||
| 2001 | ||||
| 2002 | ||||
| Yūsaku Matsuda (1949 – 1989) | 2006 | Actor | ||
| Matsui Sumako (1886 – 1919) | 1999 | Actress | ||
| Matsumoto Koshiro VII (1870 – 1949) | 1991 | Kabuki actor | ||
| Matsuo Bashō (1644 – 1694) | 1987 | Poet | ||
| 1989 | ||||
| 2002 | ||||
| Matsuzaka Keiko (*1952) | 2006 | Actress | ||
| Michiko Shōda (*1934) | 1959 | Empress. The stamps were issued on April 10, the day of her marriage with Akihito | ||
| Mifune Toshirō (1920 – 1997) | 2000 | Actor | ||
| 2006 | ||||
| Minamoto no Yoritomo (1147 – 1199) | 1968 | First Shōgun of Kamakura Shogunate | ||
| 1982 | ||||
| Mishima Yahiko | 1999 | Athlete | ||
| Misora Hibari (1937 – 1989) | 1997 | Singer | ||
| 2000 | ||||
| Miyagi Michio (1894 – 1956) | 1994 | Composer, musician | ||
| Miyazawa Kenji (1896 – 1933) | 1996 | Author, poet | ||
| Miyazawa Rie (*1973) | 2006 | Actress | ||
| Mori Masayuki | 2006 | Actor | ||
| Mori Ōgai (1862 – 1922) | 1951 | Physician, translator, novelist, poet; The Wild Geese is considered his major work. | ||
| 1990 | ||||
| Motoori Norinaga (1730 – 1801) | 2001 | Scholar of Kokugaku | ||
| Nagaoka Hantaro (1865 – 1950) | 2000 | Physicist | ||
| 2003 | ||||
| Nagashima Shigeo (*1936) | 2000 | Baseball player | ||
| Nakamura Baigyoku III | 1991 | Kabuki actor | ||
| Nakamura Ganjiro II | 1991 | Kabuki actor | ||
| Nakamura Hakuo I | 1992 | Kabuki actor | ||
| Nakamura Kanzaburō XVII | 1992 | Kabuki actor | ||
| Nakamura Kichiemon I (1886 – 1954) | 1992 | Kabuki actor | ||
| Nakamura Teijo | 2000 | Poet | ||
| Nakamura Utaemon VI (1917 – 2001) | 1991 | Kabuki actor | ||
| Nakamura Kanzaburo XVII | 1992 | Kabuki actor | ||
| Nakatsuhime | 1988 | |||
| Nakaya Ukichiro | 2000 | Physicist | ||
| Naruhito, Crown Prince of Japan (*1960) | 1993 | Prince | ||
| 2000 | ||||
| Naruse Jinzo | 2000 | Educator | ||
| Natsume Masako (1957 – 1985) | 2006 | Actress | ||
| Natsume Sōseki (1867 – 1916) | 1950 | Novelist who is best known for his novels Kokoro, Botchan, I Am a Cat and his unfinished work Light and Darkness. | ||
| 1999 | ||||
| Niijima Jo (1843 – 1890) | 1950 | Educator and Christian missionary of the Meiji era; founder of Doshisha University and Doshisha Women's College of Liberal Arts; husband of Niijima Yae | ||
| Nishi Amane (1829 – 1897) | 1952 | Philosopher | ||
| Nishida Kitaro (1870 – 1945) | 1995 | Philosopher | ||
| Nishina Yoshio (1890 – 1951) | 1990 | Physicist | ||
| Nitobe Inazo (1862 – 1933) | 1952 | Agricultural Economist, Author, Educator, Diplomat, Politician | ||
| Nogi Maresuke (1849 – 1912) | 1937 | General | ||
| 1938 | ||||
| 1942 | ||||
| 1944 | ||||
| 1945 | ||||
| Noguchi Hideyo (1876 – 1928) | 1949 | Doctor, bacteriologist | ||
| 1999 | ||||
| Noguchi, Isamu (1904 – 1988) | 2004 | Japanese - American artist, landscape architect | ||
| Nukata no Ookimi | 1981 | |||
| Oda Mikio (1905 – 1998) | 2000 | Athlete | ||
| Oe Kenzaburo (*1935) | 2000 | Author | ||
| Ogiya Yugiri | 1991 | |||
| Oh Sadaharu (*1940) | 2000 | Baseball player | ||
| Okakura Tenshin (1862 – 1913) | 1952 | Scholar | ||
| Okochi Denjiro | 2006 | Actor | ||
| Onoe Baiko VII | 1992 | Kabuki actor | ||
| Onoe Bairyoku II | 1992 | Kabuki actor | ||
| Onoe Kikugoro VI | 1991 | Kabuki actor | ||
| Onoe Shoroku II (1913 – 1989) | 1992 | Kabuki actor | ||
| Ono no Komachi (ca. 825 – 900) | 2005 | Poet | ||
| Ono no Michikaze (894 – 966) | 2000 | Calligrapher | ||
| Ōshikōchi no Mitsune | 2006 | Heian administrator and waka poet of the Japanese court | ||
| Otani Oniji | 1984 | Kabuki actor | ||
| Ōtsuki Fumihiko (1847 – 1928) | 2000 | Lexicographer, Linguist, Historian | ||
| Ozaki Yukio (1858 – 1954) | 1960 | Politician | ||
| Ozawa Seiji (1935 – 2024) | 2000 | Conductor | ||
| Ozu Yasujiro (1903 – 1963) | 2003 | Film director | ||
| Palusalu, Kristjan (1908 – 1987) | 1952 | Estonian heavyweight wrestler | ||
| Raiden Tameemon (1767 – 1825) | 1978 | Sumo Wrestler | ||
| Rikidōzan (1924 – 1963) | 2000 | Wrestler | ||
| Russell, George | 1949 | Boy Scout | ||
| Saito Mokichi (1882 – 1953) | 2003 | Poet | ||
| Saito Musashibo Benkei (1155 – 1189) | 1991 | Warrior | ||
| Sakai Yoshinori (1945 – 2014) | 1996 | Athlete, who lit the Olympic Flame, 1964. Former Fuji Television Director | ||
| Sakamoto Ryōma (1836 – 1867) | 2000 | Leader of the movement to overthrow the Tokugawa bakufu | ||
| Sanada Hiroyuki (*1960) | 2006 | Actor | ||
| Sano Tsunetami (1822 – 1902) | 1939 | Statesman, Founder of the Japanese Red Cross Society | ||
| Sanyutei Ensho VI | 1999 | Rakugo Teller | ||
| Sada Keiji (1926 – 1964) | 2000 | Actor | ||
| Sato Ichiei | 1999 | Poet | ||
| Sawamura Eiji (1917 – 1944) | 2000 | Baseball player | ||
| Seki Takakazu (ca. 1642 – 1708) | 1992 | Mathematician | ||
| Shiba Ryotaro (1923 – 1996) | 2000 | Novelist | ||
| Shigemitsu Mamoru (1887 – 1957) | 2000 | Minister of Foreign Affairs | ||
| Shimamura Hogetsu | 1999 | Writer | ||
| Shimazaki Toson (1872 – 1943) | 1993 | Author | ||
| Shinmi Masaoki | 1960 | Ambassador | ||
| Shirase Nobu (1861 – 1964) | 1960 | Explorer | ||
| 1999 | ||||
| Sho Deikun | 1993 | |||
| Shoriki Matsutaro (1885 – 1969) | 1984 | Owner of Yomiuri Media Group, Minister of Science Technology | ||
| Shotoku Taishi (574 – 622) | 2000 | Prince | ||
| Siebold, Philipp Franz von (1796 – 1866) | 1996 | German physician | ||
| Sugihara Chiune (1900 – 1986) | 2000 | Diplomat | ||
| Soma Gyofu | 1995 | Poet | ||
| Suo no Naishi (– ca. 1110) | 2006 | |||
| Suzuki Umetaro (1874 – 1943) | 1993 | Scientist | ||
| Takamine Hideko (1924 – 2010) | 2006 | Actress | ||
| Takamura Kotaro (1833 – 1956) | 2000 | Poet and sculptor | ||
| Takehisa Yumeji (1884 – 1934) | 1999 | Painter | ||
| Takekuma (*1986) | 1979 | Sumo Wrestler | ||
| Takemoto Gidayu (1651 – 1714) | 2001 | Gidayu bushi Singer | ||
| Takizawa Bakin (1767 – 1848) | 1998 | Author | ||
| Tanaka Kinuyo (1909 – 1977) | 2000 | Actress | ||
| Tanakadate Aikitsu (1856 – 1952) | 2002 | Geophysicist | ||
| Terada Torahiko (1878-1935) | 1952 | Physicist, author | ||
| Tezuka Osamu (1928 – 1989) | 1997 | Manga artist, animator | ||
| Tōgō Heihachirō (1847-1934) | 1937 | Fleet Admiral | ||
| 1938 | ||||
| 1942 | ||||
| 1944 | ||||
| 1945 | ||||
| Tomii Masaaki | 1999 | Jurist | ||
| Tomohiko Takeuchi | 1984 | Poet | ||
| Tsuboi Sakae (1899 – 1967) | 2000 | Novelist, poet | ||
| Tsuda Umeko (1864 – 1929) | 2000 | Educator | ||
| Tsuruta Kōji (1924 – 1987) | 2006 | Actor | ||
| Tsuruta Yoshiyuki (1903 – 1986) | 2000 | Swimmer | ||
| Tsubouchi Shoyo (1859-1935) | 1950 | Author, critic, playwright, translator and professor at Waseda University. | ||
| Uchimura Kanzō (1861-1930) | 1951 | Author, Christian evangelist and the founder of the Nonchurch Movement of Christianity in the Meiji and Taishō period of Japan. He is one of the most well-known Japanese pre-World War II pacifists. | ||
| Uehara Ken | 2000 | Actor | ||
| Uemura Shoen (1875 – 1949) | 1999 | Painter | ||
| Ume Kenjirō (1860-1910) | 1952 | Legal scholar | ||
| 1999 | ||||
| Watanabe Kazan (1793 – 1841) | 1993 | Painter | ||
| Yoshijirō Umezu (1882 – 1949) | 2000 | Chief commander of the Japanese army | ||
| Yakushimaru Hiroko (*1964) | 2006 | Actress, singer | ||
| Yakusho Kōji (*1956) | 2006 | Actor | ||
| Yamabe no Akahito | 2006 | Poet | ||
| Yamamoto Yuzo (1887 – 1974) | 2000 | Novelist, playwright | ||
| Yanagiya Kosan V | 1999 | Rakugo Teller | ||
| Yorozuya Kinnosuke (1932 – 1997) | 2006 | Actor | ||
| Yosano Akiko (1878 – 1942) | 1992 | Author, poet, social reformer | ||
| 1999 | ||||
| Yoshida Shigeru (1878 – 1967) | 1996 | Prime Minister | ||
| Yoshida Shoin (1830 – 1859) | 1959 | Scholar | ||
| Yoshikawa Eiji (1892 – 1962) | 2000 | Novelist | ||
| Yoshinaga Sayuri (*1945) | 2006 | Actress | ||
| Yoshino Sakuzo (1878 – 1933) | 1999 | Author, political thinker | ||
| Yoshioka Yayoi (1871 – 1959) | 2000 | Physician, Women's rights activist | ||
| Yukawa Hideki (1907 – 1981) | 1985 | Theoretical physicist | ||
| 2000 |