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 first pair of stamps in the Japanese Song Issue, released on August 24, 1979.
Kōjō no Tsuki (The Moon over the Ruined Castle”)
Scott Number JP 1375
The first stamp in the series features the song Kōjō no Tsuki. Rentarō Taki wrote the tune in 1901, inspired by the ruins of Oka Castle. Bansui Doi later wrote the words. In addition to being a popular song in Japan, it has also been used in the west. Most famously, jazz pianist Thelonious Monk included his version (under the title “Japanese Folk Song”) on his iconic album Straight, No Chaser. The heavy metal band the Scorpions also made the song into a power ballad.
The stamp features a solitary figure on a moonlit night, with the ruins of a castle behind him. It was the design of J. Takidaira.
This is a basic English translation of the lyrics:
Cherry blossoms gracefully bloom o’er the fields that lie,
High up is the castle wall, where have warriors gone?
Where is the moonlight that brightly shone up high,
Shone upon the warriors who drained the glasses dry?
You can hear the traditional song in this video, complete with the lyrics (and an English translation).
Yūyake koyake (Evening Glow)
In many parts of Japan, at 4 or 5 in the afternoon, a short song is broadcast on loudspeakers. This song tells the community that school is over and children should be on their way home. The song that is played is Yūyake koyake, or in English, Evening Glow. The song was written by a school teacher, Nakamura Uko nearly a century ago. The postage stamp design by R. Taniuchi shows two children, a young boy with a toy plane, and an older girl with a ball. In the distance is the setting sun, suggesting the children are on their way home.
The English translation of the lyrics are something like:
As the sun sets and night falls,
The mountain temple’s bell rings.
Hand in hand let’s all go home,
Let’s go back together with the crows.
After the children have returned home
A big round moon shines.
When the birds dream,
Starlight fills the sky.
Take a listen to the traditional folk song in this video, complete with English subtitles.
