Five Tokyo Postcards with Unreadable Sender Names

This lot contains five postcards sent from various parts of Tokyo by individuals whose identities remain unclear. Despite their anonymity, these cards offer a few valuable details — including a rare confirmation of Maeda Yoshihiko’s marital status.

Three cards were sent from the Nihonbashi and Koishikawa areas:

One, postmarked September 28, 1889, was sent by a person signed as 小◯正◯, with a return address listed as 東京日本橋区◯◯町三丁目六番地 (Tokyo Nihonbashi-ku, ◯◯chō 3-chome 6-banchi).

Another, dated November 16, 1891, was signed 正◯◯三郎 and gives only a partial return address: 東京日本橋区 (Tokyo Nihonbashi-ku).

A third, postmarked 武蔵東京小石川 (Musashi Tokyo Koishikawa) on January 7, 1889, was sent by 吉田◯郎 (Yoshida —rō), whose address appears as 東京小石川◯◯町四十番地 (Tokyo Koishikawa ◯◯chō, No. 40).

Two additional cards come from senders in Shiba and Iidamachi:

A card postmarked 武蔵東京芝口 (Musashi Tokyo Shibaguchi) on September 15, 1889 was sent from 東京市芝区白金 (Tokyo City, Shiba-ku, Shirogane). The sender, unnamed, addresses Maeda as 先生 (sensei) and notably refers to his wife as 奥様 (okusama) — providing the first concrete evidence that Maeda was married. This is a key detail, as no reference to his wife appears in any known public records. A second mention of Maeda’s wife appears in a card from Itakura Katsusuke (see entry dated May 28, 2025).

A fifth card, postmarked 武蔵東京飯田町 (Musashi Tokyo Iidamachi) on September 23, 1891, also addresses Maeda as 先生, but offers no return address or identifying information.

Due to the fragmentary nature of the names and addresses on these cards, further investigation into the senders’ identities is unlikely to yield meaningful results at this time. Nevertheless, the incidental references within them help illuminate otherwise undocumented aspects of Maeda’s personal life.