Postcards — from beauty to kitsch and back again

Have you already got a flood of digital greetings this Palm Sunday and Easter?

Postcards have come a long way — from intricate design and mass popularity to tools for fundraising, propaganda, and resistance. And eventually, to a certain decline in the digital age, which brought both instant delivery and, at times, lower aesthetic standards.

But how did it all begin? You might be surprised — with a blooming branch of willow or apple.

Let’s trace the story of postcards from their origins to today in a series of posts.

A branch of sakura and rice paper

When do you think the first beautifully crafted holiday greetings appeared? More than 1,000 years ago.

Correspondence of the Heian period

In medieval Japan during the Heian period (9th–12th centuries), letters and greetings were works of art — and a widely practiced form of communication among the aristocracy.

They were written in elegant calligraphy on scented rice paper, often in poetic forms such as waka or haiku. A blooming branch was attached to the letter, hinting at the sender’s feelings through the language of flowers — hanakotoba. There were even professional writers who composed business and love letters on commission.

“A letter carried by the wind.” A calligraphic work by Kūkai, 9th century.

Modernization of Japan

The Meiji Restoration of 1868 brought sweeping reforms, and in 1871 Japan established a modern postal service. Just a year later, the first official postcards appeared — folded sheets sent without envelopes.

Affordable, fast, and visually appealing, they marked a new chapter in a thousand-year tradition of communication.

The first Japanese company to produce artistic postcards was Haibara, which still exists today. By 1875, around 300,000 postcards were being sold and delivered every month in Japan.

Haibara Online Museum

Haibara Online Museu

The burden of tradition

The long-standing custom of sending New Year greetings — nengajo — flourished with the postal system and reached its peak in the early 2000s. Each postcard also served as a lottery ticket, making it not only pleasant but potentially rewarding to keep.

Japanese New Year's cards with lottery numbers. Source

Today, however, for many people with wide social circles, writing these cards has become a demanding yearly task. With the rise of digital communication, the tradition has gradually declined.

Still, even this decline follows tradition: nengajō-jimai — a formal message informing recipients that this will be the final greeting card.

Send an Easter postcard

And we still have time to send a real, paper Easter card to someone who will truly appreciate it.

Easter stamps featuring pysanka are already available at Ukrposhta Market and post offices. You can find a postcard to match your mood at your favorite bookstore — or even a café.

All that’s left is to write your message.→