For Today's Dilemma, We Look At A Japanese Cover

This easy-to-look-at cover was buried in a lot I'm going through, and I was wondering if anyone can make sense of any of the writing or the oval purple backstamp (chop?)? The rose 3-sen stamp was cancelled by a very lightly (so unreadable) rectangular handstamp.

What's the dilemma?

"...and I was wondering if anyone can make sense of any of the writing or the oval purple backstamp (chop?)?"

To further clarify:


Docgfd cannot read Japanese [<<< 'The dilemma'] and wants to learn about this cover; can someone translate please?

Not being able to read a language is not a dilemma.

A dilemma would be not to learn Japanese and ignore what it says, or learn Japanese and know what it says.

Could you provide us with a closeup of the postage stamp? Someone may be able to discern the cancellation.

Also, rotate the images 90 degrees counter clockwise to show their correct orientation.

I ran it thru 'Image Sleuth' but one can not really see much of anything.

Tough crowd and are we really wasting time going there (?), but if you're going to google definitions, don't just post the one that suits your narrative. In fairness, you should have included the part right below your quote reads:

"a difficult situation or problem."

And to make it even more clear, the difficult situation or problem here is, I can't translate what this cover reads or know anything about the oval backstamp, and was hoping someone could educate me.

My remark related to the previous post.

And no a problem is not a dilemma. The dilemma is defined by the difficult choice between two alternatives. That is why it starts with 'di.'

Silly me. Here I thought this forum was about stamps & covers, not word definitions and grammar. And yet, the Oxford dictionary doesn't agree with you...

"di·lem·ma
[d#601;#712;lem#601;, d#299;#712;lem#601;]
noun
a situation in which a difficult choice has to be made between two or more alternatives, especially equally undesirable ones:
"the people often face the dilemma of feeding themselves or their cattle"
Similar:
quandary
predicament
difficulty
problem
puzzle
conundrum

a difficult situation or problem:
"the insoluble dilemma of adolescence"'

Thanks docgfd,

It looks like a typical circular datestamp from the period. It's faint but it's there.

The oval backstamp on the reverse I would suggest was applied by the sender. It may be the sender's name, but that's just a guess.

"Di" two as in:

1. Not learning what it is that is written on the cover front and back. A difficult circumstance for a true student of philately.

2. Having no Japanese reading friends for translation, having to post on a website such as the SCF and then weather all of the unneeded and not particularly on point "helpful" ( ) comments.

Seems like a difficult choice between two rather unacceptable solutions; thus a dilemma.

Edit: That said I sent a copy of the front and back to a friend in Japan asking if he would be kind enough to translate, if he can. Guessing the effects of time zones and all, I don't expect to post an answer until tomorrow, my time, at the earliest.

Thanks Bobby !

Awesome...thank you !

To update, still no reply.

No worries.