Japanese Occupation stamps
Talking about stamps being used (or abused) like this reminds me of a similar operation during the Japanese Occupation of Singapore that was, perhaps, a little less legitimate.
During the Japanese rule in Singapore (15 February 1942 to 12 September 1945), Japanese stamps were issued. These
are shown below (the 50-cent piece shows an existing landmark building in Johore Bahru).
However, when the Japanese ran short of stamps, they commandeered the stocks of British stamps, which showed a picture of King George the Sixth, and simply printed “Great Japan” on the stamps.
Take a close look at the stamp on the left. The pronunciation of“Great Japan (or Great Nippon)”is rendered as ‘Dai Nippon’.
However, ‘Dai Nippon’ could be pronounced as ‘Die Nippon’ and interpreted as a sign that Japan would eventually lose the war!
Re-trievia recalled: Excerpts from Year 2003/ 2004
Tan Wee Kiat
hi there, im interested in your post..actually im doing some research for my collection stamps which is its a Nippon Stamps where there’s a samurai person in there..i dunno how to explain it to you..perhaps i could send u the images to show it..i really want to know the history of it …pls reply to my email soon. Thank You.
Serena
24 June, 2008 at 10:20 am