Title
1927 Japan Emperor Taisho Funeral Court Officials Offering Chest Torches Night Tama Postcard
Front Description
A finely coloured Japanese commemorative postcard, No. 5 in the numbered series issued for the state funeral of Emperor Taisho (Yoshihito), who died on 25 December 1926. The illustration shows a section of the night-time funeral cortege on its way to the Tama Imperial Mausoleum (Tama Goryo) at Asakawa, near Hachioji, west of Tokyo.
This card focuses on the court nobility and ceremonial officials of the procession, dressed in traditional Heian-style court robes in muted grey, grey-green and dark brown tones, with wide trailing trousers and black lacquered court caps (kanmuri) with the looped mourning-style tails. At the left, a group of officials carries a large white wooden ceremonial chest on poles, and behind them bearers shoulder a stacked set of dark lacquered ceremonial implements and poles, one topped with an object wrapped in blue cloth. Across the centre and right, a long line of officials walks solemnly in single file, hands folded within their sleeves, while several attendants carry lit pine torches trailing bright orange flame. In the right foreground, an official in dark robes holds a long torch horizontally before him.
Two iron fire baskets (kagaribi) light the scene: one in the lower centre foreground on a straw-wrapped stand with white paper shide streamers, and a larger one raised on a tall wooden tripod bound with straw rope and shide at the centre, its flames billowing to the right. The background shows the funeral enclosure of alternating white and grey striped curtains, tall yellow and green-blue patterned banners, evergreen wreaths, and swags of blue and white bunting, with three glowing globe lamps on ornamental standards. Dark blue mountains and a cloudy night sky complete the composition.
Printed caption along the lower margin in English: “No. 5 Funeral Procession of the Late Emperor Taisho toward the Asakawa Mousoleum.” (with the original spelling “Mousoleum”), followed by Japanese text read right to left: 淺川多摩御陵葱華輦葬列鹵簿全圖 (Asakawa Tama Goryo Sōkaren Sōretsu Roba Zenzu – “Complete view of the funeral procession and imperial cortege of the Sōkaren palanquin to the Tama Imperial Mausoleum, Asakawa”) and in brackets (大正天皇御大喪儀) (Taisho Tenno Go-Taisogi – “The State Funeral of Emperor Taisho”).
Condition: Good strong colours and fine detail. Wear to the corners, light edge wear along the left side, a few small light surface specks in the upper right sky, and light toning to the caption margin, all consistent with age. No major creases noted.
Back Description
Divided-back postcard, unused and unposted, with no handwriting, stamps or postmarks. All printing in orange ink.
Printed text:
“POST CARD” across the top centre.
“MADE IN JAPAN” printed vertically along the central dividing line.
Stamp box at upper right containing a triangular star-shaped publisher’s logo, with “TOKYO” and “JAPAN” printed around it.
Japanese text printed vertically at right: 郵便はかき (Yūbin Hakaki / Yūbin Hagaki – “Postcard”), written in the pre-1933 style without the dakuten voicing mark.
Condition: Light overall toning, scattered small foxing spots, and minor corner and edge wear. Clean with no writing.
Estimated Era
This postcard dates to early 1927 (Showa 2). It depicts the funeral procession of Emperor Taisho, held on 7–8 February 1927, as the cortege travelled to the newly built Tama Imperial Mausoleum at Asakawa, and it belongs to the same numbered commemorative set as Nos. 6, 7 and 8. The reverse carries the identical Tokyo publisher’s star-and-triangle logo and the heading 郵便はかき without the dakuten, a style used before the official change to 郵便はがき in 1933. The divided back, “MADE IN JAPAN” imprint, colour printing technique and card stock are all consistent with the late 1920s.
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