⭕️Nature conservation in Japan

From left to right :
Bonin Honeyeater (笠原吸蜜鳥) ; Ryukyu Robin (琉球歌鴝)
Short-tailed Albatross (短尾信天翁) ; Red-crowned Crane (丹頂鶴)
Japan (1975, 1976)
4th May, 2011. Tōro, Shibecha

Japanese archipelago stretches from the subtropical to subarctic zones running parallel to the eastern rim of the Eurasian Continent consists of four main islands and more than 3,900 smaller islands whose area cover almost 378 thousand square kilometers.

Rapid economic development which started in the 1960's has changed the social and economical structure and life style in Japan, particularly in Tokyo and other big cities. Huge industrial complexes have been developed and rapidly urbanized suburban areas.

Still, forest areas cover 67 percent of Japan's total land area and agricultural lands 14 percent. Because of its mountainous topographical nature, a large part of Japan is still decorated with beautiful primitive and secondary forests. Brown bears, black bears, and Japanese deer trot in forests, and golden eagles, cranes and herons glide in blue sky.

⭕️Endangered birds of Japan

First line :
Peregrine Falcon (擬游隼) ; Crested Serpent Eagle (大冠鷲)
White-backed Woodpecker (大赤啄木) ; Marsh Grassbird (斑背大尾鶯)
Second line :
Blakiston's Fish Owl (毛腳漁鴞) ; Cackling Goose (小加拿大雁)
Third line :
Okinawa Rail (沖繩秧雞) ; Japanese Wood Pigeon (黑林鴿)
Nordmann's Greenshank (諾氏青足鷸) ; Okinawa Woodpecker (野口啄木鳥)
Ireland (2014)
25th May, 2014. Ōhara, Iriomote

Japan is located in the northwest Pacific Ocean. Being latitudinally long, the island chain covers a wide climatic range; from the boreal to the sub-tropical climate zone. There are also two ecological lines which divide the countries flora and fauna. These are Blakiston's Line (between Hokkaido and Honshu) and the Watase's Line (southern Japan). Because of this unusual ecological background, Japan's avifauna is incredibly rich. More than 600 species have been recorded to date. Most of them are migratory (more than 60%) whilst approximately 60 species are either endemic or sub-regional endemic, including the internationally famous Okinawa Rail, Blakiston's Fish-owl, Japanese Murrelet, Red-crowned Crane, Pryer's Woodpecker and Lidth's Jay.

Birding in Japan is increasingly popular. The largest nature conservation NGO, the Wild Bird Society of Japan, has more than 53,000 members and there are more birders who do not belong to the WBS-J. Twitching is becoming more and more common. People can get to rare birds within a few hours of their discovery because of the development of the internet and mobile telephones.

⭕️Philately Week 2008

From left to right :
Snowy Plover (小環頸鴴) ; Little Egret (小白鷺)
Japan (2008)

17th May, 2016. Miyagi Sendai

Watanabe Shotei was a versatile artist and artisan of the Japanese Meiji era. At an early age he had the possibility to exhibit Japan's arts and crafts as a team member of Shibata Zeshin for the Paris World Exhibition of 1878. Later he travelled to Europe and the United States to study Western art and to exhibit Japanese arts and crafts outside of Japan.

Watanabe Shotei studied painting. Still at a young age he began to work for Shibata Zeshin who at that time was one of Japan's most renowned painters, lacquer artists and printmakers. Zeshin Shibata was selected to represent Japan at the international world exhibitions in Vienna in 1875, in Philadelphia in 1876 and in Paris in 1878.

Watanabe Shotei received the opportunity to accompany Zeshin Shibata in 1878 for the Paris World Exhibition. This lead him to further travels to the United States and to an extended stay in Paris to study Western art.

Back in Japan Shotei Watanabe followed the career scheme of Shibata Zeshin by not concentrating on one art form, but being active in a number of different art and artisan fields - printmaking, painting and making designs for Japanese cloisonné.

Also in printmaking he covered a wide field - from kuchi-e to kacho-e. Watanabe's printmaking style varies from the minimalistic approach rooted in Japanese and Chinese painting to a style that reminds us of the coming shin hanga art movement promoted by the Tokyo publisher Watanabe Shozaburo.

When the art dealer and collector Robert O. Muller passed away in 2003, he left the greatest and in the view of many art collectors and dealers also the best collection of mainly shin hanga prints that the world had ever seen. Among the shin hanga that came into the market, were also many beautiful designs made by Shotei Watanabe. They consist of kacho-e (images of birds and flowers) kept in an early shin hanga style.

Heisei definitive stamp

Chinese Spot-billed Duck (斑嘴鴨)
Japan (1994)
19th November, 2008. Okayama

To carry this maxicard, A stamped envelope which included on the packet when sent to Japan. The envelope affixed with a definitive stamp issued on early Heisei period, from 1992 to 1998. These twenty-something stamps illustrated domestic butterflies, birds and flowers of Japan, here has been shown Small Copper (紅灰蝶) and Mandarin Duck (鴛鴦) respectively.

Chinese Spot-billed Duck A. p. zonorhyncha is a subspecies of Indian Spot-billed Duck (印度花嘴鴨), which is a migratory bird breed in north-east Asia, mostly visible in Japan, Korean Peninsula and north-east of China. In winter it will fly to south and stay in south-east Asian countries like Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand, some birds may fly to Australia or the islands of South Pacific.

Hooded Crane

Hooded Crane (白頭鶴)
Japan (1992)
27th November, 2009. Izumi, Kagoshima

Thanks James of his surprise to send me this nice cover from Japan, actually it seems wonderful as I still have not complete this waterfront bird series, which are 20 stamps issued on 1991 to 1993. This stamp, with the Tufted Puffin (花魁鳥) stamp also sent by James are came from part 3 of this series, and also sent from the bird's inhabit places. Hooded Crane is a small darkness bird breeds in the mid-southern and eastern-south areas of Siberia, and migrates to South Korea, China, and Japan. Especially near 80% birds will stay in Izumi, southern area of Japan during winter.

Mandarin Duck

Mandarin Duck (鴛鴦)
Japan (1992)
15th March, 2008. Tottori Central (with pictorial postmark)

Mandarin Duck is one of common bird in north-east China and Japan, and it always appears on the folk story or oriental art of these countries, in Chinese it may related to a couple. It mostly lives and bleeds in ponds and wetlands, and migrates to south-east of China in winter. Male with colourful brown and greenish feathers with reddish beak but female only with grey coloured feathers. Although Mandarin Duck is very common, same as other species it faces illegal hunting and living place being damaged.

Mandarin Duck is symbol bird of Tottori prefecture, a small prefecture in the west of Honshū. Over 90% area are hill and mountains, the famous product is pear.

Tufted Puffin

Tufted Puffin (花魁鳥)
Japan (1992)
13th November, 2008. Nemuro, Hokkaido

This species is similar with Atlantic Puffin (北極海鸚) but it only can be found in northern Pacific Ocean. As it looks like Atlantic Puffin, birdwatchers outlook be attracted by its sharped orange-yellow bill, and also its golden hair behind ears, this feature is mainly differnet between Atlantic Puffin. Nemuro is located in the easternmost of Hokkaido, there have two islands in the Pacific Ocean called Koruri and Moyururi are conserved by government, they are paradise of seabirds include Tufted Puffin. On the left side of the Puffin stamp features one Small Copper (紅灰蝶) stamp is one of Heisei definitive stamp issued on 1997, the definitive stamps illustrated 26 different beautiful insects, birds and flowers, thanks James this nice cover.

Snowy Plover

Snowy Plover (小環頸鴴)

Japan (1994)

27th November, 2007. Futami, Mie

This located stamp issued by Mie Prefecture to show the famous sight Meoto Iwa in Futami, Ise. Which are two rocks in the middle of sea, according to Wikipedia, the large rock is man and small one is his wife. I don't have any idea why the design of the stamp have three birds, those birds are Snowy Plover, it is migratory bird living in northern earth and fly over to southern in winter.