The “Japanese Song Issue” is a series of postage stamps that Japan created between 1979 and 1981. The stamps feature children’s songs (or folk songs) and each have a few notes from the start of the song. The design of each stamp is colorful and fun, to appeal to children. Make sure to visit my main page about the series to learn more. Also check out this excellent post by Richard Scott Morel, Curator, Philatelic Collections of the British Library about this series.
This post is about the Japanese Songs Series Seven (the seventh set of two stamps). The release of the series was on September 18, 1980.
The Red Dragonfly
The first stamp depicts the folk song Aka Tonbo (Red Dragonfly), based on a 1921 poem by Rofū Miki. The music is by Kōsaku Yamada and dates to 1927. The stamp design by K. Negishi shows a woman with an outstretched hand reaching for a dragonfly.
Japanese
Yūyakeshō yake no akatonbo
Owaretemita no wa itsu no hi ka
Yama no hatake no kuwa no mi o
Shō kago ni tsunda hama boro shika
Jū go de ane ya wa yome ni iki
Osato no tayori mo taehateta
Yūyakeshō yake no akatonbo
Tomatteiru yo sao no saki
English
Red dragonflies in the sunset
When was it that I watched them on someone’s back?
In mountain fields we gathered mulberries
In small baskets. Or was it just a dream?
At fifteen my big sister left home to get married. Her letters have long since ceased to come
A red dragonfly in the sunset
On the tip of a bamboo pole
Here is a really nice choral version of the song:
Song by the Sea
The second stamp in the series was the design of S. Hayashi. The stamp shows a woman sitting below a night sky. Above, red, white, and yellow stars that look like they were cut from construction paper hang as if they were hung by hand. The woman looks forlornly at her hands, where she is holding what looks to be a star that has fallen from above.
The stamp commemorates the song Hamabe no uta (Song by the Sea) written by Kokei Hayashi and Tamezō Narita in 1916.
Japanese
Ashita hamabe wo samayoeba
Mukashi no koto zo shinobaruru
Kaze no oto yo kumo no samayo
Yosuru nami mo kai no iro mo
Yuube hamabe wo motooreba
Mukashi no hito zo shinobaruru
Yosuru nami yo kaesu nami yo
Tsuki no iro mo hoshi no kage mo
Hayachi tachimachi nami wo fuki
Akamo no susozo nurehijishi
Yomishiware wa subete iete
Hamabe no masago managoima wa
English
If I wander about ashore this morning
It will bring me back to good ol’ times
The sound of the wind, the way clouds change
Waves breaking in, the color of the shells
If I roam about ashore this evening
My beloved will bring me back then
Waves breaking in and waning back
The color of the moon, the light of the stars
A gust of wind causes the waves to rise
The hem of my red kimono is soaking wet
I once was sick, getting back on my feet
Here I stand ashore like a fine grain of sand
Here is a lovely version for instrumental trio. Unfortunately, the melody is played by an erhu, a Chinese instrument. I do know better, but I find this to be a rather wonderful recording.
