細井丑太 1933 Postcard to ドクトル・エフ・エム・都良宇津 *

細井丑太 1933 Postcard to ドクトル・エフ・エム・都良宇津

Postmarked January 4, 1933, this New Year's Greetings card was sent by someone named Hosoi Ushita. However, the character 丑 used in his name may not be definitive, as his handwriting is unclear. The most likely assumption was made based on the number of strokes and similarity to that character. An online search yielded no results for such a given name as 丑太, until I accidentally discovered a work called "Gyakugun no Hata" by Fujisawa Shuhei, where there was a character named 丑太, much to my surprise. Since I am not 100% certain about the correctness of the character as written by Hosoi, it remains just an assumption.

The return address and the picture postcard depicting 'The Museum Hall Kotohira Sanuki' suggest Hosoi's possible affiliation to religious sects, given the cultural context of Kotohira. Interestingly, Trautz had many acquaintances who belonged to both Shintoism and Buddhism, adding a layer of complexity to the sender's religious affiliation.

Hosoi uses uncenventional kanji here, 都良宇津, to address Trautz. He also writes a note: 数ナラヌ私XXXXヲＸＸ / 御Ｘ情厚ク感謝ＸＸマス. Some characters cannot be deciphered, but this note seems to thank Trautz and express appreciation for his kindness.