Designs Take On Wartime Look; Stamp Issues Enter Period of Confusion
With the start of the Pacific War, stamps with a wartime look began appearing. Designs depicting the war were sought from the general public.
As the war continued, shortages of materials and labor developed. The quality of the paper and glue declined and most stamps were printed by the relief printing method which required little labor.
The Takinogawa printing shop was destroyed by fire in an air-raid in April 1945, and once again printing of stamps was consigned to a private corporation. During this period of extreme confusion it was difficult to make all stamps uniform, and there were differences in the paper and color used. Some stamps did not have perforations or glue. The simple lithography printing method was reverted to during this period.
