Description: This original definitive postage stamp was issued by the Empire of Japan during the mid-Meiji period as part of a major postal redesign. The highly detailed typographic layout features a central circular ring pattern enclosing a prominent sixteen-petal Imperial Chrysanthemum Crest, which serves as the personal mon of the Emperor. Curving elegantly directly above the central crest is an ornate scroll banner containing traditional Kanji text reading from right to left as "大日本帝國郵便" (Dai Nippon Teikoku Yūbin), identifying the Postal Service of the Empire of Japan. The four outer corners contain detailed mosaic-style frame accents alongside individual circular plaques anchoring the face value, with the lower right displaying the denomination as "½ SN" in Western alphanumeric shorthand and the lower left mirroring it in traditional Kanji characters. This specific specimen is a postally used copy, heavily marked by a bold, sweeping dark circular handstamp cancellation across its left quadrant.
Circa: 1899–1907
Condition: Used example with a strong offset cancellation.
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