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I am far from being well informed about these early Japanese postcards. From my scant research I learned that the longer one is the earliest of the three and one of the 1st postcards in Japan. It appears to be missing the half that was folded with the bulk of the message. The other two are also early. They have the Koban (oval) engraved stamp. The following information was sent to me explaining these early postcards:
I saw in your description that you needed more info about these cards. The cancel on the left (the one with the piece
out of it) is Nagoya. The year date is not seen, but probably 1874 or 5. The middle one is cancelled in Kyoto in Meiji 14, June 2. The 5 rin rate is for local mail. The one on the right went from Osaka, Settsu province to Sakai, Izumi Province. Sakai is a city very close to Osaka. Date is December 10, 1888. Hope that this helps.
The middle card is Meiji 14, which means 14 years after the beginning of the Meiji era, making it 1881,
You add 1867 to the year for that era. 3 Early Japan postcards...beautiful lettering.
