Lot 20344 – 1905 Japanese postcard from Russian prisoner dated

1905 Japanese postcard from Russian prisoner dated “7/VIII” from “town Hirosaki” to St Petersburg. Native cancellation of HIROSAKI with date equivalent to 20 August 1905 . Boxed Japanese inscription reading PRISONER OF WAR MAIL at top with small circular and oval handstamps indicating censor and his personal cachet, all in orange-red, three-line SERVICE DES PRISONNIERS DE GUERRE and oval-framed cachet in Japanese reading CENSORED HIROSAKI P.O.W. CAMP, both in violet. Hand-endorsed “To Russian capital St Petersburg”. Tokio transit 31 August 05 and St Petersburg arrival 23 IX 1905 (=6 X 05 New Style). Plus picture postcard of General Kuroki interrogating Russian prisoners postally used in England. Hirosaki, near the northern Japanese city of Aomori, was one of the smallest P.O.W. camps, holding only 61 men (54 soldiers and 7 sailors), mainly from the Sakhalin campaign. It was open for only about 5 months in 1905.