Japan 1985 Stamp - Stylized 'T' Postmark - Japan Post Symbol

Japan 1985 flower stamp Scott #1576, Draba japonica.

Is this a special type of cancel does anyone know? Note the fancy scroll work / art work in the bottom arc of the cancel.

Where is that from? (Where is the cancel itself from?) What is it? A First Day of Issue cancel or a special event cancel or something else, or just a regular piece of nice-looking cancel art work?



Does a Japanese cancal catalogue exist?

Thanks for all answers and commets.

Hmmm, just forund another one on Delcampe with the same scrolly bottom cancel, which is what intrigues me.



Maybe this was a 1985 thing or a regional thing or ???

Another (poor picture) that I think is Emperor Yera 60 which I am thinking is 1985 western.

And another on a bee stamp.

I think I have found an answer.

The 'T' with a bar over it (in the bottom center of the cancels) is the Japanese symbol representing Japan Post; it's service mark.

The 'T' represents the sound of 'Te' (see Katakana ) from the word Teishin which means Communications.

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_postal_mark

Does it appear odd to you, that all cancels are vertical?

I must say that this was a fun endeavor to solve by my own little self, to a certain extent anyway.

To do so while on this site spurred me on to look harder and deeper and more throroughly than I would have on my lonesome.

Just the thought of others looking on and wondering what the heck is he up to now? made me engage at full steam ahead.

Wonderful. I want to thank all of you for just being here.

Now I can sleep.

Great Hello Kitty, you're right Rod!

Does that mean these are CTO or even offically made postmarks, even though from a machine seeminly, with the wavey bars?

Perhaps it was just collectors that had asked for these to be canceled as such? or they placed the stamps on cover in order to achieve such a nicely placed 'westernized' marking?

Must find some covers now! Off to Delcampe I go.

I considered FDC's but these pmks are not clean enough to comply,
All Japanese Meters are vertical.
(At least that I recall)

just looking at 1985 FDC's on Delcampe and most seem to have Pictorial or Landscape postmarks. few have other types though.

The original CDS is from Kozoji, a large railway station complex in Kasugai, in Aichi Prefecture.

The second is from Takayama ('Tall Mountain' - not terribly helpful in Japan); most likely the Takayama in Gifu Prefecture.

Can't make out the third or fourth.

We are fortunate to have a linguist amongst us,
Tony always gets his stamp.

I'll never forget him identifying my rare Japanese stamp,
that turned out to be a sock label.

My other hobby is tearing the wings off flies ...

Thank you Tony for your expertise, in many fields.

Puzzler, there's a curious sort of satisfaction about being able to deploy my day job in the service of my hobby. The philatelic one, that is. Not the other one.

Some Japanese still address envelopes using the "portrait" orientation, and there are envelopes with the flap along the short side. This means that the writing is top to bottom, rather than left to right. I'm not sure how these are sorted by the Japanese post office, but they seem to manage to get a horizontal cancellation on a "landscape" envelopes, and a vertical cancellation on a "portrait" envelope.