桜切手 （洋紙仮名入り切手2) 1874年（明治7年）2月発行 1874年（明治7年）2月、これ以降、和紙から洋紙の採用により切手が丈夫になり、印刷レベルが向上した。紙の原料はエスパルト紙（イネ科嵩高紙）で、紙幣や切手の印刷に適合していたため採用された。従前通り、仮名を入れる目的は、国内エリア別数量管理（不正防止）だったが、実際の効果は薄かった。
"Cherry blossom stamp" ( Western paper Syllabics ) Issued on Feb.1875 In February 1874 (Meiji 7), stamps became stronger and the printing level improved due to the adoption of Western paper instead of Japanese paper. The raw material for the paper was imported Esparto paper (bulky paper of the Gramineae family), which was adopted because it was suitable for printing banknotes and stamps. As before, the purpose of entering Syllabics was to manage the quantity by domestic area (fraud prevention), but the actual effect was weak.