Antique Japan Crown Prince Hirohito 1921 Europe Tour Postcard Set Britain
This is a complete set of eight original color postcards issued in 1921 to commemorate the European tour of Crown Prince Hirohito, the future Emperor of Japan. The original wrapper is printed with: “Color Printing” “Commemorative Photographs of the Crown Prince’s European Tour” “First Series – Set of Eight” It also identifies the distributor as the Hochi newspaper agency office in Marunouchi, Tokyo, and carries a “Reproduction Prohibited” notice. These details on the surviving original wrapper are important because they strongly support the period origin of the set. This was not a later retrospective souvenir produced after Hirohito became Emperor, but a postcard series created specifically to commemorate his 1921 journey while he was still Crown Prince. The 1921 tour was also a major event in the history of the Japanese Imperial Family. Members of the Imperial Family had traveled abroad before, but Hirohito’s journey was the first large-scale official overseas tour by a Japanese Crown Prince who would later become Emperor. At only 20 years old, he traveled through Europe, visiting Britain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, and other countries. Britain was one of the central destinations of the tour. Hirohito met King George V and members of the British Royal Family, attended official ceremonies, reviewed troops, and experienced European royal and political society at close range. The postcards preserve scenes of that journey in color, including British guards, ceremonial processions, royal carriages, military events, and Crown Prince Hirohito in uniform. This is therefore much more than simply an old postcard set of Emperor Hirohito. It is a contemporary visual record of the young Hirohito’s first major encounter with Europe, before he became Emperor and before the Showa era began. The European tour therefore came at an especially important turning point in his life, immediately before he moved into the center of Japan’s national leadership. All eight postcards remain together with the original printed wrapper. A remarkable surviving record of the moment when the future Emperor Hirohito first stepped onto the international stage. Own a Piece of History. International Buyers – Please Note.