Nengajo | Traditional Japanese New Year’s greeting cards, 1880s-1970s

Nengajo card, 1925 / Saitô Shôshû, Manzai for New Year’s Day, 1904 / New Year’s Card: Twelve Months

Takehisa Yumeji (1884-1934) – Playing Cards at New Year’s

Nengajo cards, 1910s

Nengajo card, 1884

Uzaki Sumikazu (1889-1954) – New Year’s Day at the Castle

Unknown, New Years Day Greeting Card, 1962

New Year’s Card: Tora Gozen Opening the Sliding Door / Nengajo card, 1925 / Unknown, New Year’s Card: Family in Car, 1926

Unknown, New Years Day Greeting Card, 1971

Nengajo are traditional Japanese New Year’s cards, similar to Western Christmas cards but specifically for the New Year – a practice evolving from Heian-era (794 to 1185) greetings, which flourished in the 1930s with artistic designs (often featuring zodiac animals like the goat in 1931) and timely postal delivery on January 1st, symbolizing gratitude and well wishes, a beloved custom even as Japan modernized its postal system.

Also:
Japanese Graphic Design, 1920s-1930s
Japanese Bookplates & Ex libris | Woodcuts by Umetaro Azechi, 1964-1972
Daily Life in Japan in The Late 19th Century