Description: This vintage philatelic piece is an authentic Japanese 2-sen red-orange definitive postage stamp from the First Showa Series featuring General Nogi Maresuke. The finely engraved central design portrays a frontal portrait of the bearded general dressed in his decorated Imperial military uniform. Positioned directly above his head is the iconic sixteen-petaled Imperial Chrysanthemum crest, flanked by traditional kanji typography that reads "Great Japan Empire Post". The lower boundary anchors the financial denomination parameters, featuring the numeric character "2" on the lower left and the kanji value "貳錢" (2 Sen) across the right corner. The piece exhibits crisp, standard line perforations around its perimeter and carries a partial black postal cancellation mark over the upper-left corner.
Circa: 1937-1944
Condition: Used
Notes:
General Nogi Maresuke was a deeply revered figure in Meiji-era Japan, highly celebrated for his pivotal military leadership during the Russo-Japanese War and his strict adherence to the samurai code of bushido. Following the defeat of Japan in 1945, General Headquarters (GHQ) launched a sweeping campaign to remove ultranationalist symbols from public life, which ultimately led this specific issue to be designated as a banned stamp on September 1, 1947. Because it was outlawed, the public was strictly forbidden from using it for postage, and remaining post office stocks were systematically destroyed by the government.