15 sen definitive stamp showing a saluting boy aircraftsman (1942)
A blue Japanese 15 sen stamp. A young airman in flying cap and goggles salutes in the foreground, with a flag with a large disc behind him and the imperial chrysanthemum crest at top centre beside the postal name. The tag rests on the flag, the salute and the uniform of a youth set beside the national crest (transfer): the stamp lends the prestige of the flag and the service to an everyday postage value.
- Date
- October 1, 1942
- Period
- Second World War
- Made by
- Imperial Japanese Ministry of Communications (逓信省), postal authority of the Empire of Japan
- Region
- East Asia
- Country
- Empire of Japan
- Medium
- Stamp
- Issuer type
- State
- Regime
- Showa Japan
- Leader
- Hideki Tojo
- Audience
- Domestic public
- Purpose
- Persuade or win support
- Themes
- War and the military, Home front
- Event
- World War II
- Techniques
- Transfer
- Leader
- Hideki Tōjō
- Source
- Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
- Source
- Wikimedia Commons (scan of the stamp, collection of the uploader Carpkazu), retrieved October 2, 2026
- Rights
- Public domain (Commons: PD-Japan-organization + PD-1996; 1942 stamp of a Japanese ministry)
Imperial Japanese Ministry of Communications, 15 sen boy aircraftsman stamp, 1942, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Text on the object
大日本帝國郵便 15 錢五拾
Great Japan Imperial Postage 15 Fifteen sen
Read from the 275 by 316 pixel scan. The top inscription runs right to left across the crest (大日本 to the right, 帝國郵便 to the left); the denomination at the foot reads 15 at left and 錢五拾 at right, that is 拾五錢 read right to left. The translation is machine-made and not checked by a fluent reader of Japanese.
