Postal System Day

What Is Postal System Day?

Every January 24th is "Postal System Day" (郵便制度施行記念日, Yūbin Seido Shikō Kinenbi) in Japan. On January 24, 1871, Japan's modern postal system officially began operations — replacing the traditional "hikyaku" (飛脚, relay messengers) system with a standardized national mail service modeled on the British penny post. The system, designed by Hisoka Maejima (前島密) and initially operating between Tokyo and Osaka, marked the birth of Japan's modern communications infrastructure and a fundamental shift in how information and correspondence flowed across the country.

From Hikyaku to Modern Post

Before 1871, correspondence across Japan was carried by hikyaku — professional relay runners who carried letters between staging posts along the major highways. The system was effective but expensive, unreliable for ordinary people, and incompatible with the needs of a modernizing nation integrating into global trade networks. Maejima Hisoka's postal reform, modeled on the British Penny Post system that had democratized correspondence in Britain from 1840, established uniform postage rates, prepayment by stamp, and nationwide reach as the foundation of the new system.

Maejima Hisoka: Father of Japanese Post

Maejima Hisoka (1835–1919) is honored as the "father of Japanese postal service" (郵便の父). His portrait appeared on Japan's one-yen postage stamp for many years, and the Japan Post Group maintains a museum (逓信総合博物館, Teishin Sōgō Hakubutsukan) partly in his honor. Maejima's reform was not just about mail delivery — he also advocated for the abolition of Chinese characters in Japanese writing (proposing a phonetic writing system) and for the rationalization of Japanese communications more broadly, making him a pioneering figure in Japan's Meiji modernization.

Japan Post Today

Japan Post (日本郵政) operates approximately 24,000 post offices nationwide — from major urban centers to remote island communities — providing mail, parcel delivery, banking, and insurance services. The postal savings system (ゆうちょ銀行, Japan Post Bank) and postal insurance (かんぽ生命, Japan Post Insurance) are major financial institutions serving tens of millions of customers, particularly in rural areas where commercial banks have reduced their presence.

Fun Facts

• First stamps: Japan's first postage stamps, issued on April 20, 1871 — the day the postal service officially launched in Tokyo — featured a dragon design and are among the most sought-after items by Japanese philatelists.
• 〒 symbol: Japan's distinctive postal symbol 〒 (resembling a stylized "T" with a horizontal bar) is recognized throughout Japan and appears on post boxes, post offices, and postal codes on all Japanese addresses.