Japan Post and Pokémon are collaborating to release a Pokémon Card Stamp Box containing stamps, stickers, and Black Star Promos all channelling inspiration from existing, famous Japanese stamps.
Included in the box, which launches August 25th at Japanese post offices, is a “Lite version” of the newly launched family Pokémon trading card game, as well as Pokémon, themed postage stamps, and two very special full-art Black Star Promos. The aforementioned promo cards arrive inspired by the 17th century designed “Beauty Looking Back” and “Geese Flying across the Full Moon” stamps which have been in circulation for decades and come illustrated by Mitsuhiro Arita, with Pikachu riding on the back of the “beauty” and Cramorant replacing the three famous Geese.
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Mitsuhiro Arita’s involvement in the project only heightens the buzz surrounding the release. The legendary illustrator has been contributing to the Pokemon TCG since its inception, alongside a slew of other card games, most famously designing a host of cards from the Base set including all three starters and their respective evolutions – Charizard included. Mitsuhiro would go on to design the majority of the Fossil and Team Rocket boxes, with hallowed cards like the Secret Rare Dark Raichu and the three legendary bird Pokemon in his repertoire, as well as more modern iterations like all seven of the Rainbow Rares from Unbroken Bonds. Mitsuhiro Arita’s contribution to the TCG is incomparable, and this collaboration with Japan Post is just another notch on his belt.
Accompanying the box’s release is the launch of a huge number of commemorative stamps through the Japanese postal system. The stamps are to be sold separately to the box in two iterations: the 64-yen stamp sheet depicts Pokémon who spend the year happy – Scorbunny, Yamper and Skwovet to name a few – with the theme of “the four seasons”, while the 84-yen stamp sheet’s theme is “Pokémon Card Game” and sees stamps adorned with the Pokémon card design of many classics, namely a shadowless Charizard, Blastoise and Venusaur.
The two stamp sheets arrive in a print run of 1 million and 2.5 million copies respectively, while the box is limited to a mere 80,000 copies. Being such a monumental regional collaboration, the global demand is without a doubt going to be high, especially so when considering that the boxes are nearly unobtainable without a Japanese address. With the stamps, in particular, these products are consumable and are going to be used en-masse by the Japanese in replacement of regular parcel stamps, so scarcity will become more and more apparent as time goes on.
While a pre-order for the product opened July 26th the box has since sold out, and with no information on a reprint on the horizon, for anyone else to get their hands on the box they’ll have to utilize the secondary market. As of right now, the box has the highest bid of $185, a massive premium over and above the $40 launch price, and an indication of just how collectible these BSP cards are.
