Japan: Magome-juku

Last Monday I got three cards: one from Japan and two from Germany.

The card from Japan shows Magome-juku. Magome-juku was one of the sixty-nine stations of the Nakasendō, an ancient road that connected Kyoto and Edo during the Edo period. As a post town it was relatively prosperous and cosmopolitan, but fell into obscurity and poverty after the completion of the railway. Since then it has been restored to its appearance in the Edo period and is now a popular tourist destination. A quiet portion of the original highway towards Tsumago-juku, the next post town, has also been preserved.

The card was sent with a nice stamp about a new major Japanese museum, the National Ainu Museum in Shiraoi on Hokkaido. It is dedicated to the Ainu people, the indigenous people Hokkaido and other regions in Japan and Russia, and its mission is to promote a proper understanding and awareness of Ainu history and culture in Japan. The stamp was issued on 21st April 2010. Actually also the museum was supposed to open in April, but due to Covid-19 the opening was moved to May. In total ten different stamps were issued.

Thank You very much Keiko!