JAPANESE CULTURE, EXPLAINED
年賀状
A nengajō carries New Year greetings to friends, relatives and other contacts. A message or image on paper joins a postal rhythm of preparation before the year ends and delivery aimed at New Year’s Day. Lottery numbers belong to some postal cards, rather than defining the greeting itself.
Postal Museum Japan leaves the custom’s precise origin uncertain, while pointing to late-Heian letter models. Modern postal services began in 1871, postal cards appeared in 1873, and privately produced postcards were permitted in 1900. These developments widened the means of sending a greeting. The later lottery card did not invent New Year correspondence.
Large numbers of greetings once arrived for processing at the start of the year. Special handling shifted preparation into December, ready for new-year delivery. The museum dates this arrangement to selected offices in 1899 and all offices in 1905. The greeting and the work required to deliver it consequently occupy different parts of the calendar. This handling was interrupted during wartime and resumed in 1948; the administrative rhythm has its own history, distinct from the older greeting custom.
The recipient’s address and name allow delivery; the sender’s details identify the contact. Greetings, zodiac imagery, handwriting, photographs or a short personal update provide another kind of information. Printed designs and individually made cards can both serve the custom. A familiar formula can still carry a particular person’s news.
The first lottery-bearing New Year postal cards were issued on 1 December 1949. The museum credits the proposal to Kyoto resident Masaji Hayashi, whose hopes included reconnecting people separated during postwar disruption and combining prizes with welfare donations. These hopes formed part of the proposal’s background.
Writing, posting, sorting, delivery and a possible lottery draw are separate events. New Year handling aims at delivery on 1 January, with posting guidance announced for each year. A mourning notice, formally nenga ketsureijō, explains that its sender is refraining from celebratory New Year greetings. Japan Post distinguishes that purpose from a simple death announcement. Both greeting forms communicate the sender’s situation.
A lottery is an additional feature of some cards; posting guidance is issued each year.
Japan Post’s August 2026 announcement planned about 560 million cards for the 2027 issue, compared with roughly 750 million for 2026. These are initial issue volumes, not delivered greetings. The announcement also discusses social-media greetings and products with preprinted imagery and messages. Design and personal additions continue to change alongside making and posting practices.
No. New Year correspondence predates the lottery postal card.
Special New Year handling prepares large volumes of greetings for delivery in the new year.
No. That year marks the first issue of lottery-bearing New Year postal cards.