Postal Stationery

A 4 cents postcard was issues on 29 April 1943. In the same stamp design as the 4 cents stamps, the wording is also in red. Most of the card are on quite flimsy light-weight card, which is watermarked: ‘Government Printing Works Singapore’. The watermark extends across several cards, so a card may have part of it or a straight line or no visible watermark. The watermark tells where the card came from and probably where the postcards were printed. A vast number of these cards were printed and used postally. 

Sender

Line 1  馬六甲東街
Line 2  納九九號　 唐緘

Line 3  九、  十五

* On the original postcard, it is read from top-to-bottom and right-to-left.

Recipient

Line 1  昭南島　後港
Line 2  潤享路四十一號

Line 3  李溪為先生收

* On the original postcard, it is read from top-to-bottom and right-to-left.

Syonan-to, Light of the East, Japanese name for Singapore.

Message (Transcribed as it was Originally Written)

Line 1     姊姊
Line 2     四妹：
Line 3     姊姊到的那末遲，不是
Line 4     要挨餓了？同生人走在路上
Line 5     吃東西定不方便，台灣張先生
Line 6     已成功十六上課，不過玉美要
Line 7     遲半個月起。燕燕怎樣會跌
Line 8     的呢？不會有疤痕嗎？四妹的精
Line 9     神為何？你們一定大談特談了，只
Line 10  可惜不是月夜，其實姊姊在這
Line 11  裡我並不見的天天有功夫去，但是
Line 12  這幾天來一吃過晚飯就覺
Line 13  得空虛，只想提起兩隻腳出門。
Line 14  景教還沒有來過，東西究
Line 15  竟賣去否無從知道。專此
Line 16  祝好!

Line 17   弟 九月十五日

* On the original postcard, it is read from top-to-bottom and right-to-left.

First Draft Translation
 

LINE 1	To sister and
LINE 2	the forth younger sister
LINE 3	Sister attended there so late, should be
LINE 4	starving or not? Walking with some people that you don't know,
LINE 5	it surely not easy to eat anything. Mr. Chang who comes from Taiwan
LINE 6	already started the class (or attended the class) on the 16th. However Yu-Mei was to
LINE 7	late for the class in half month. How did Yan-yan fall down?
LINE 8	Will it leaves scars? How's the forth sister?
LINE 9	All of you must talk a lot.
LINE 10	What a pity that it's not a moon night tonight. Although I live here,
LINE 11	I don't have much time to go (somewhere). However
LINE 12	recently while I finish dinner every time, I feel
LINE 13	so empty, so the only thing I want to do is move two legs and head out somewhere.
LINE 14	Jing-Jiao hasn't come here yet, so I really don't know
LINE 15	if the thing (or a product) sold out or not. Write this letter
LINE 16	to you with the best regards.
LINE 17	Younger brother wrote on 15th September

Physical Observations

Postcard size: 141 x 90 mm

Sender:
 

	Total Dots	Length*	Distance from upper line*
Line 1	32	44.5
Line 2	32	44.5	9
Line 3	32	44.5	9
Line 4	32	44.5	9

* In milimeter (mm).

Recipient:
 

	Total Dots	Length*	Distance from upper line*
Line 1	44	68.5
Line 2	45	69.5	13.5
Line 3	45	70	13.5
Line 4	45	70	13.5

* In milimeter (mm).

Watermark: Seen on the back. Partly.

Thick card., white.

Written with blue pen in traditional Chinese characters.

Written with pencil on the obverse, ‘ 1 Joon Hiang ?’ in roman characters probably by the postman.

Postmark

Date: 15 September 2604
Translated into Gregorian calendar: 15 September 1944

大日本
9.15.
2604
★ マライ
★ マラッカ

マライ : Marai, which was Malaya (馬來西亞) in Japanese.
マラッカ : Marakka which was Malacca (Melaka, 馬六甲) in Japanese

Censor Mark Cachet

Right box: マラッカ郵便局 (Marakka Yuubinnkyoku)
                   Malacca Post Office 馬六甲郵局

Left box: 検閲済 (Kennetsu Sumi) – Censored

Size : 24 x 39 mm

Indicia

At top: 大日本帝国郵便 - Imperial Japanese Posts
At bottom middle: マライ - Malaya
At bottom left: 4 セント - 4 Cents

Postcard

The heading on the card reads
郵便はがき
English: Postcard
Malay: Poskad

The Japanese and Malay at upper right are
名宛
Malay: Alamat
English: Address

The Japanese and Malay at upper left are
差出人居所氏名
Malay: Nama dan Alamat Sipengirim
English: Name and address of sender

Transliteration

Transliteration was made as to preserve the original content, which if translated may bring different meaning as language understanding and situation may be different altogether.

Transliteration was provided by Mimi Chang and her father Zon Huei. I am very much grateful and indebted for their willingness into helping to reading somewhat difficult Chinese handwritten characters. Japanese characters were transliterated by Lin Yan Liang. New friends from Taiwan. Thank you so much!

Notes

A very big thank you to Thomas Slemons for the postcard which I really appreciate. Very interesting because this is the first postcard I have that was written in Chinese. Internal Reference: TOM-4

Japanese Occupation of Malaya, the Pictorial Issues written by Susan McEwen. Published by Malaya Study Group G.S.M April 2009.