This issue commemorates the arrival of the Portuguese on the island of Tanegashima in 1543, the first contact between Europeans and Japanese. Historian João Paulo Oliveira e Costa states that Japan is the country where Portugal had more influence, besides Brazil. Indeed, the traders brought Western products unknown to Japan (like soap, tobacco, and modern firearms), while the Jesuit missionaries introduced Christian faith. The Portuguese also influenced Japan’s gastronomy, notably the creation of tempura, and the Japanese vocabulary, e.g. the words for bread and soap.

The stamps were designed by Carlos Leitão, lithographed by the Mint on enamelled paper sheets of 5×10 stamps with perforation 12×12½, and circulated from 22 September 1993 to 31 March 1999.

Stamp	Print run	Afinsa	Gibbons	Michel	Scott	Yvert
42.00	1,000,000	2161	2342	1981
130.00	500,000	2162	2343	1982
350.00	500,000	2163	2344	1983

Related posts:

1. Portuguese Language: 700th Anniv.
2. The Court’s Arrival in Brazil: 200th Anniv.
3. Convent sweets 1
4. Portuguese Railway: 150th Anniv.
5. Portuguese Authors Society: 50th Anniv.

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