Author | Lightnews

HISTORYinPOSTCARDS @historyinpostcards.com · 1d

Thank you for the lovely remark! I myself enjoy finding scenery from old Japanese movies in the postcards, which are usually closer in time to when they were shot than we are. My favourite is the one of Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine that could have been a still from Ozu's Late Spring.

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HISTORYinPOSTCARDS @historyinpostcards.com · 1d

This week, we update our interactive map featuring postcards from prewar Japan with a touch of color and some new functionality. The result should be a more natural browsing experience.
You can read more about the reasoning and try it for yourself at historyinpostcards.com/news/20251101/

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HISTORYinPOSTCARDS @historyinpostcards.com · 8d

Back to our weekly updates, we bring you new postcards from prewar Japan. Both fans of nature and railways will surely enjoy the trip to Mount Myōgi, while almost anyone can appreciate the hospitality of the little-known Furuya Ryokan.
Check what is new at historyinpostcards.com/news/20251025/

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HISTORYinPOSTCARDS @historyinpostcards.com · 15d

I am sorry for the lack of updates the past two weeks. Some recurring health issues caught up with me, and though I was hopeful to have some new postcards ready for today, it seems I was overly optimistic. Nevertheless, things should be back to normal next week.❤️

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HISTORYinPOSTCARDS @historyinpostcards.com · 28d

In our weekly update, we bring you new postcards of Karel Hujer. Some things have changed since these were sent, you hardly need to know any Latin to enter university, but some have not, newspapers still blare propaganda like it's the 1930s.
Check what is new at historyinpostcards.com/news/20251005/

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HISTORYinPOSTCARDS @historyinpostcards.com · Sep 28

In our weekly update, we bring you new postcards from prewar Japan. Matsushima still hides plenty of sights to explore, but this will be, for the time being, the last update devoted exclusively to the picturesque, pine-clad islands.
Check what is new at historyinpostcards.com/news/20250928/

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HISTORYinPOSTCARDS @historyinpostcards.com · Sep 20

In our weekly update, we bring you new postcards from prewar Japan. Exploring the intricacies of color printing, we have the unusual opportunity to compare two postcards printed from the same negative some 10 years apart.
Check what is new at historyinpostcards.com/news/20250920/

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HISTORYinPOSTCARDS @historyinpostcards.com · Sep 14

In our weekly update, we bring you new postcards from prewar Japan. Continuing our journey through Matsushima, we visit three islets, each with its own unique appearance and story, all bearing marks of the teeth of time.
Check what is new at historyinpostcards.com/news/20250914/

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HISTORYinPOSTCARDS @historyinpostcards.com · Sep 7

In our weekly update, we bring you new postcards from prewar Japan. We take in the scenic views of the beautiful pine-clad islands of Matsushima, courtesy of two publishers that have remained in business for over 100 years.
Check what is new at historyinpostcards.com/news/20250907/

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HISTORYinPOSTCARDS @historyinpostcards.com · Sep 1

Unforeseen health issues derailed our recent updates, but things should be back on track. With this week's postcards from prewar Japan, we finish our journey down the Hozu River with views that poignantly retell the river’s story.
Check what is new at historyinpostcards.com/news/20250901/

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HISTORYinPOSTCARDS @historyinpostcards.com · Aug 16

In our weekly update, we bring you new postcards from prewar Japan. We continue our journey through the Hozu Gorge on board one of its famous whitewater boats, which have offered visitors a thrilling ride since the 19th century.
Check what is new at historyinpostcards.com/news/20250816/

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HISTORYinPOSTCARDS @historyinpostcards.com · Aug 10

In our weekly update, we bring you new postcards from prewar Japan. We follow the journey of the Katsura River as it flows through the beautiful Hozu Gorge. On a boat or a sightseeing train, there are a plenty of sights to take in.
Check what is new at historyinpostcards.com/news/20250810/

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HISTORYinPOSTCARDS @historyinpostcards.com · Aug 4

In our weekly update, we bring you new postcards from prewar Japan. We travel to the remote Lake Shibire, from which we might see Mount Fuji, and check out Tokyo's Water Park via a supplement to the popular magazine Housewife's Friend.
Check what is new at historyinpostcards.com/news/20250803/

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HISTORYinPOSTCARDS @historyinpostcards.com · Jul 26

In our weekly update, we bring you new postcards of Karel Hujer. And they are full of interesting personas, such as the father of Czech spiritism, Karel Sezemský, and one of the architects of Czech chemical nomenclature, A. S. Batěk.
Check what is new at historyinpostcards.com/news/20250726/

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HISTORYinPOSTCARDS @historyinpostcards.com · Jul 23

Social philately can add extraordinary value to a common stamp or card. As a kid, I devoured the pages of Verne's Around The World In 80 Days. Now my eyes shine the same holding a postcard sent by Gaston Stiegler in 1901, shortly after he finished the very feat in 63 days.

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HISTORYinPOSTCARDS @historyinpostcards.com · Jul 23

Thank you very much for the compliment! It is a niche subject, but I hope it finds its audience.

HISTORYinPOSTCARDS @historyinpostcards.com · Jul 20

Things are coming to order, so here is another batch of postcards from prewar Japan. They all feature magnificent views of Mount Fuji and introduce two new publishers, including the very prominent 長島萬集堂.
Check what is new at historyinpostcards.com/news/20250720/

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HISTORYinPOSTCARDS @historyinpostcards.com · Jul 15

In the meantime, here is something for digital preservation maniacs: a magnified close-up of a postcard divider, showcasing how the newly implemented transformations (on the right) allow for preserving sharper details at the same file size after rescaling from the raw scan.

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HISTORYinPOSTCARDS @historyinpostcards.com · Jul 15

Looking at the stacks of thousands of postcards waiting for me, I want to be as sure as possible that the entire process is done properly and won't have to be repeated in the future before adding any new postcards to the website. Bear with me! 🙏

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HISTORYinPOSTCARDS @historyinpostcards.com · Jul 15

It is fair to say I have underestimated the manual work required to bring the entire archive up to the newly implemented (and automated) standard, which revealed the need for some re-scanning.

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HISTORYinPOSTCARDS @historyinpostcards.com · Jul 12

Having enjoyed the heights of Mount Myōgi, let's venture deep underground. The sprawling Akiyoshi Cave offers otherworldly rock formations too, some of which could be scaled in the past. Alas, no feet are slipping on the aptly named Monkey Slide anymore.
historyinpostcards.com/japan/176/

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HISTORYinPOSTCARDS @historyinpostcards.com · Jul 10

'Climbing on top of honden' is a phrase you are most likely to find in a police report about a mischievous youtuber. However, you are actually more than welcome to scale the depicted Rumbling Rock, where the deity of Nakanotake Shrine resides.
historyinpostcards.com/japan/202/

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HISTORYinPOSTCARDS @historyinpostcards.com · Jul 9

Mount Myōgi puts on a different coat each season, all beautiful. The playfully colored black-and-white photograph on this postcard takes us back to an autumn some hundred years ago. Climbing up to take a photo of this view did require a degree of bravado.
historyinpostcards.com/japan/122/

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HISTORYinPOSTCARDS @historyinpostcards.com · Jul 8

Climbing up Mount Myōgi, hikers used to stop by the Lone Cedar Tree, where a small rest stop offered refreshments and the depicted view of the sharp Hittō Rock. The rest stop, Kondōsha, also published this postcard, as well as many others of the mountain.
historyinpostcards.com/japan/203/

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HISTORYinPOSTCARDS @historyinpostcards.com · Jul 7

This week, we brave Mount Myōgi, a rather difficult hike offering views of otherworldly rock formations. The most popular course takes us through four magnificent stone gates that were carved, as the postcard poetically expresses, by the divine axe.
historyinpostcards.com/japan/201/

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