Japanese postal mark

Several versions of the 〒 mark

A postbox in Japan

A post van

〒 (郵便記号, yūbin kigō) is the service mark of Japan Post and its successor, Japan Post Holdings, the postal operator in Japan. It is also used as a Japanese postal code mark since the introduction of the latter in 1968. The mark is a stylized katakana syllable te (テ), from the word teishin (逓信 communications). The mark was introduced in February, 1887 (Meiji 20.2.-).

Usage

To indicate a postal code, the mark is written first, and the postal code is written after. For example, one area of Meguro, Tokyo, would have 〒153-0061 written on any mail, in order to direct mail to that location. This usage has resulted in the inclusion of the mark into the Japanese character sets for computers, and thus eventually their inclusion into Unicode, where it can also be found on the Japanese Post Office emoji.^[1] In most keyboard-based Japanese input systems, it can be created by typing "yuubin" and then doing a kanji conversion.

Of the versions shown to the right, the one on the far right is the standard mark used in addressing. The circled yūbin mark in the middle is often used on maps to denote post offices.

Unicode

See also

• Japan Post § Postal symbol
• History of Japanese postal services
• Japanese addressing system
• Japanese typographic symbols
• Japanese map symbols
• Kazakhstani tenge (uses an almost identical symbol)

References

External links

• Official Postal Site (in English)