These two postcards present a real mystery. The one on the right, postmarked January 7, 1890, from Tokuyama, Suō (周防徳山) — now part of Yamaguchi Prefecture — has a return address of Tsuno-gun, Suō, Yamaguchi Prefecture (山口県周防国都濃郡). It was sent by someone named Miyoshi Miyo (三吉ミヨ), a name that sounds like it could belong to a woman, though determining gender from names alone can be tricky. The postcard addresses Maeda Yoshihiko as 油絵師 (aburaeshi, "oil painter"), which appears to have been a common practice, as there are quite a number of similar postcards in our collection.
After searching combinations of terms such as "Miyoshi," "Tokuyama," "Yamaguchi," "Meiji," and "Artist," I found an artist named Ōba Gakusen (大庭学僊), born in Tokuyama in 1820, whose birth name was Miyoshi Yuriyoshi (三吉百合吉). While it's unclear how "Miyoshi Miyo" might be related to this artist, it's not uncommon for artists of that era to use multiple names. It's possible that our "Miyoshi Miyo" is, in fact, Miyoshi Yuriyoshi.
The postcard on the left was postmarked January 3, 1889, from Sumoto, Awaji (淡路洲本), now part of Hyogo Prefecture. The sender's name and address are illegible. The postcard addresses Maeda as 六要画 前田吉彦 (Rokuyōga Maeda Yoshihiko), suggesting that Maeda Yoshihiko was recognized as an artist whose work reflected the principles of the Six Essentials of Painting (六要画). The sender may have used this term to emphasize Maeda's connection to classical artistic ideals, even though he was known for his Western-style painting. It could imply that Maeda's works were viewed as embodying the spirit of these traditional principles in some way.
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