Leaf: paper, colour print, drawing.
Frame: bamboo.
This Olympics is called the “Phantom” Olympics because it did not take place cause of the second Japanese-Chinese war. At first it was moved to Helsinki, but after the Soviet attack on Finland in 1939, the Olympics were cancelled, leaving it with a serial number.
On the front side in the centre is a stamp imitating the entry stamp at the border with the date: 12.8.40. On the left of the seal with Olympic symbols: five Olympic rings, images of athletes, olive branches, date: 1940. On the right side of the seal is a landscape with the Shinto shrine of Itsukushima on the island of Miyajima. The ritual gate of the shrine, the torii, is depicted in the foreground. The sea often has high tides and torii floods. The image of the gate in the water is an unofficial symbol of Japan.
The reverse side shows a landscape view of Miyajima Island with torii in the water, a row of ritual lamps and deer.
