FUTABA - Japanese Landmarks Postcard - Himeji Castle - Evening Cherry Blossoms

FUTABA - Japanese Landmarks Postcard - Himeji Castle - Evening Cherry Blossoms

A Japanese postcard from the Nihon Meisho series (famous places of Japan) by ROKKAKU (Futaba): a collection in which each view is drawn with foil stamping alone. This one shows Himeji Castle with the cherry blossoms lit up at dusk.

Himeji Castle, a World Heritage site, is known as Shirasagi-jō, "White Heron Castle", because its white plastered walls recall a heron spreading its wings, and it is considered the masterpiece of early Edo-period castle architecture. The silver foil has a texture that brings out the roof tiles and stone walls in relief. Himeji is listed among Japan's 100 best cherry blossom spots, and in spring the castle and the trees are lit up at night. This version, Yoizakura ("evening cherry blossoms"), lays dots of pink holographic foil over the silver-foil walls to recreate that light. Foils: matte silver and pink holographic.

The finish is hakuoshi (箔押し), hot foil stamping: the foil is fixed to the paper with heat and pressure, and the craftsman adjusts temperature, pressure and time so that even the finest lines stay sharp. The design changes its shine with the angle of the light.

It is Japanese postcard size (100 × 148 mm), made of glossy cast-coated card. It can be posted like any postcard or framed as a small print.

About ROKKAKU. ROKKAKU was born on Rokkaku Street in Kyoto: it goes back to Sakurai Shōten, a shop founded in 1911, which gave rise in 1950 to a card company that took up foil stamping in 1955. Since 2021 the brand has belonged to Futaba, a Nagoya company founded in 1972 and well known in Japan for its New Year cards (nengajō).