2019-01-29 Tue

The WCDR stamp stands for the special issue that was released on the occasion of the World Conference on Disaster Reduction. On 11th January 2005, Japan issued the most unique stamp combining mythology and the contemporary world.

The World Conference on Disaster Reduction (WCDR) is a milestone event to increase the profile of disaster risk reduction in development planning and practice. The conference provides a unique opportunity to promote a strategic and systematic approach at the national level to address vulnerabilities and to reduce risk to natural hazards.

On the occasion, Nippon Post issued an 80 Yen stamp depicting a Phoenix with a catfish in its talon. Both of them are on the background of the map of Japan. The stamp is inscribed with the World Conference on Disaster Reduction in Japanese and roman at the top and bottom respectively along with the country’s name and the denomination value.

The design of the stamp cannot be more appropriate as in Japanese mythology, the Namazu is a giant catfish who causes earthquakes and the Phoenix is the symbol of a state. The catfish caught in the talon of Phoenix is a symbolical representation of Disaster Reduction measures taken by a state.

Image Courtesy: http://rammb.cira.colostate.edu