POSTCARD N.59 - Japan

Postcrossing postcard sent on the 1st January; received on the 17th January
Postcard image: ? (probably a Japanese comics character, but I am not sure at all).
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I said it before: it is almost infuriating not to be able to read a foreign language, but unfortunately I cannot get around it, not even with all the cyber help we have access to these days. I  have no idea who this character is, or what is written on the card, but he little bloke does look friendly and I do thank Daizo a lot for having sent it to me and also for the care she had when selecting what stamps to use. 

Stamps:

62 Yen stamp, issued in 22SEP993 as part of a 2 same price stamp set celebrating the 450th anniversary of the arrival of the Portuguese in Japan. The image on the stamp is that of a Jesuit  host box inlaid with mother of pearl. The other stamp of the set shows a detail of a folding screen.

The influence of Portuguese went as far as living its mark on the japanse idiom (that idiom I'm crossed because I can't understand it 😀) since Arigato, the Japanese word for "Thank you" comes from the Portuguese "Obrigado", meaning the same... we also introduced the shotgun to the Japanese, but I rather remember the influence of our beautiful language....

It should also be noted that the 450th anniversary of the arrival of the Portuguese in Japan was also celebrated by the  Portuguese Post - CTT -  with a 2 stamp set dedicated to this same event

8 Yen stamp, issued on 01AUG1952, with the image of a Japanese Serow (Capricornis crispus), part of a definitive set dedicated to Fauna, flora and national treasures. The Japanese Serow is a goat-antelope endemic to three of te 4 main islands of the Japanese Archipelago and is considered to be a symbol of the country. This did not prevent it from being over hunted an nowadays there are 13  special conservation areas all over Japan where the species cannot be hunted, to ensure its conservation, although elsewhere they'd better not show in from of one of the implements the Portuguese introduced in Japan, a long while ago....

The postmark indicates that the postcard was sent fom Japan's capital, Tokyo on the first day of the year.