When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
DescriptionThis is a complete set of eight original color postcards issued in 1921 to commemorate the European tour of Crown Prince Hirohito, the future Emperor of Japan.The original wrapper is printed with:“Color Printing”
“Commemorative Photographs of the Crown Prince’s European Tour”
“First Series – Set of Eight”It also identifies the distributor as the Hochi newspaper agency office in Marunouchi, Tokyo, and carries a “Reproduction Prohibited” notice.These details on the surviving original wrapper are important because they strongly support the period origin of the set. This was not a later retrospective souvenir produced after Hirohito became Emperor, but a postcard series created specifically to commemorate his 1921 journey while he was still Crown Prince.The 1921 tour was also a major event in the history of the Japanese Imperial Family.Members of the Imperial Family had traveled abroad before, but Hirohito’s journey was the first large-scale official overseas tour by a Japanese Crown Prince who would later become Emperor. At only 20 years old, he traveled through Europe, visiting Britain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, and other countries.Britain was one of the central destinations of the tour. Hirohito met King George V and members of the British Royal Family, attended official ceremonies, reviewed troops, and experienced European royal and political society at close range.The postcards preserve scenes of that journey in color, including British guards, ceremonial processions, royal carriages, military events, and Crown Prince Hirohito in uniform.This is therefore much more than simply an old postcard set of Emperor Hirohito.It is a contemporary visual record of the young Hirohito’s first major encounter with Europe, before he became Emperor and before the Showa era began.Only months after returning to Japan, Hirohito became Prince Regent in November 1921, assuming the constitutional duties of his ailing father, Emperor Taisho. The European tour therefore came at an especially important turning point in his life, immediately before he moved into the center of Japan’s national leadership.All eight postcards remain together with the original printed wrapper.A remarkable surviving record of the moment when the future Emperor Hirohito first stepped onto the international stage.Own a Piece of History.Shipping
FedEx or Japan Post
International Buyers - Please Note:
Import duties, taxes, and charges are not included in the item price or shipping cost.These charges are the buyer\'s responsibility.Please check with your country\'s customs office to determine what these additional costs will be prior to offerding or buying.
Provided by HARU
