This listing is for a single Japan First Day Cover (FDC) commemorating the 14th National Athletic Meet held in Tokyo. The cover features an intact horizontal se-tenant pair of stamps and a highly complementary sports cachet.
The National Athletic Meet: The National Sports Festival, commonly known as the Kokutai, is Japan's premier national sports event. The 14th iteration of the games was hosted in Tokyo in the autumn of 1959.
Philatelic Background: This issue is notable for its specialized sheet layout. As documented in philatelic catalogs, the two distinct designs (Fencing and Hammer Throw) were printed in a unique checkerboard se-tenant pattern (schachbrettartig) throughout the sheet. This required collectors to carefully extract adjacent pairs to showcase both designs together. This pristine First Day Cover beautifully preserves an intact horizontal pair, tied perfectly to its host city's first day cancellation, and features a cachet directly linked to the stamp's original artwork.
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