186 187
Early in the course of the present war the Russians invaded East Prussia, and it is reported that they were using Russian stamps in that country, but up to the time of writing, examples have not come to hand. The only special marks yet noted in this country from Russia are various censor marks and labels (Fig. 188).
188
In this war philatelic history is repeating itself, for Russia has issued a new set of war charity postage stamps ([Figs. 189-192]) for a fund organised by the Imperial Women's Patriotic Union, of the face values 1 kopec, 3, 7 and 10 kopecs, each of which sells for one kopec more than the franking value denoted. The extra kopec goes to the fund, which is to relieve distress among widows and orphans of soldiers and sailors killed in the war (see [Frontispiece]).
193 194
Japan. The rapid modern rise of our Far Eastern Ally to power is marked upon a few interesting stamps of a commemorative character. Japan's successful war against China (1894-95) was commemorated by an issue of four stamps in 1896. These are of two denominations, each of which is in two varieties, an outcome of an Eastern etiquette which at a later date was evinced in the stamps of the Republic of China. The Japanese stamps in question portray two heroes of the war; the denominations were 2 sen and 5 sen, but that there should be no suggestion of any inequality in their admiration for the two heroes, the Japanese postal authorities had two stamps of each
denomination prepared so that each warrior figured on a 2 sen and also a 5 sen stamp. Thus neither could be regarded as being valued higher than the other, and neither could be said to be given greater prominence. One of the portraits (Figs. 193, 194) is that of the late Marshall, Prince Arisugawa Taruhito, chief of the staff of the Army of the Japanese Empire, and the other (Figs. 195, 196) is the late Lieutenant General Prince Kitashirakawa, Commander of the Imperial Guards engaged in the subjugation of Formosa.