The time-honored art of putting pen to paper died with the click of a mouse.

So, receiving a handwritten letter in this day and age is rather special.

And that is what is being celebrated on the fifth floor of a hole-in-the-wall building in Osaka’s Nishi Ward that features a Post-sha shop.

Post-sha, best described as a fancy goods store, is fitted with two antique desks and chairs along its window. The tables even come with writing implements.

“We are offering a place for people to solely think of someone else and write letters while not expecting a reply any time soon,” said Post-sha’s owner, Asako Ishida, 42.

The store’s shelves and walls are lined with colorful writing paper as well as envelopes and postcards.

To create original missive sheets, wrapping paper is purchased in Germany, Italy, Belgium and elsewhere and cut into uniform letter paper size. Lines are ruled by hand as well.

Envelopes made by hand are also available. It is possible to purchase even a single sheet of letter paper and an envelope.

“You can even write with paper you bring with yourself,” said Ishida. “Visiting here requires no admission, so I want people to take full advantage of our shop.”

Ishida’s affection for letters got the better of her and she opened Post-sha in 2017. Her aim was to create a space where visitors can take delight in penning missives in this age of social networking platforms.

TAKING HOURS TO PERFECT

On one occasion, a customer showed up with a draft letter in his hands, asking, “which paper to use to propose?”

Another patron filled in 10 sheets of paper to send “a fan letter on my favorite’s birthday.”

A father turned out at Post-sha in the hope of “delivering an extraordinary postcard to my family” from whom he lived away because of his job.

One visitor took four hours to finish a letter.

“Working on letters can allow people to come across their hidden feelings, too,” said Ishida. “I hope they take the plunge and write. Many recall they used to love putting together missives through that process.”

JAPAN POST DELIVERIES

Tokyo-based Japan Post Co. reckons it handled 7.5 billion letters and 4.9 billion postcards in fiscal 2022.

Both figures marked record lows over the course of the past 30 years.

Deliveries reached their peak during the three-decade period with 13.2 billion letters in fiscal 2001 and 7.8 billion postcards in fiscal 2002, the company said.

Since then, the number of mailed letters and postcards has steadily declined.

CALLIGRAPHY CLASSES

Kumon LIL Co. in Osaka, which operates calligraphy schools nationwide to offer personal lessons based on a method developed by the Kumon Institute of Education Co., surveyed hundreds of people in 2017 to ascertain their views on letter writing.

A total of 600 individuals in their 30s to 50s responded.

Multiple answers were allowed for each question.

Forty-five percent said they are happy if they receive letters written with “elegant characters.” Those who chose “handwritten ones” and “those addressed exclusively to me” accounted for 37 percent and 35 percent, respectively.

Most respondents said they would like to write ordinary missives, love letters and message cards if they had the time.

Thirty percent said they had never received a handwritten letter.

The survey results underlined the fact that people are well aware of the appeal of missives but have few opportunities to write to or hear from others.

Kumon LIL said the number of students determined to refine their penmanship to write beautiful characters is rising every year, with the total around 100,000 throughout Japan.

Makiko Fujimori, who has served as a lecturer at a Kumon calligraphy school in Kobe’s Tarumi Ward for 37 years, noted that polishing one's writing techniques can help improve confidence.

“Written characters might not be that important, but they are still worth something,” said Fujimori. “Even the way dots are added can dramatically change their impression, illustrating how profound writing is.”

Kenichi Tomita, 65, who started going to the school after reaching mandatory retirement age, said he now pens letters because he has so much free time on his hands.

“Working on letters is no longer too much of a bother for me,” said Tomita.

Miiko Tsuda, president of Kumon LIL, offered her thoughts on what is behind the trend.

“It is taken for granted that characters are typed to convey messages in this era of social media,” said Tsuda. “Conversely, writing may look fresh in this very age.”

(This article was written by Sachi Otsuta and Shuya Iwamoto.)