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According to my information, this postcard was sent from Japan to Russia, and probably in 1945.
Needs a translation badly and nobody has seemed to care since then. I suppose that the historical kana usage can take place here. Front of the postcard Back of the postcard

P.S.: Yes, a translation request, but definitely not the usual case, somewhat intricate, otherwise I would be able to translate it myself. Yet feel free to close it if you think that it just does not fit.

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    OMG First time I have ever been moved by something on SE! This postcard belongs in a museum with two addresses on it --- both were parts of Japan back then but both are foreign countries now. Incredible!
    – user4032
    Feb 19, 2014 at 14:07
  • They will close this thread shortly, I am sure. If they do, contact me by leaving a message in the chat room. I can read and understand every single character and word on this with no problems.
    – user4032
    Feb 19, 2014 at 14:47
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    @TokyoNagoya The community decides what to close, so if people don't vote to close a question (even if it would normally be considered off-topic), it will stay open forever :-)
    – user1478
    Feb 20, 2014 at 2:57
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    oshiete.goo.ne.jp/qa/8483045.html I made a question about this on 教えて!goo. Answer No.2 notes a lot of the same things which I found strange about this text but no definite answer...
    – Robin
    Feb 20, 2014 at 5:38

2 Answers 2

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郵便はがき postcard. 大日本 Dai Nippon "big Japan" or "Japanese empire". 樺太 Kara Futo, Sakhalin. 大泊町 Oh Tomari Cho, literally means "big harbor town". 東 east. 三条 3rd street. 南 south. 一ノ十一 one hyphen eleven.

髙橋 Taka Hashi, family name. 久男 Hisa O, a male name. 様 polite addressing like "Sir".

北満 Hoku Man, northern Manchuria. 龍江省 a Chinese geometric name, literally means "dragon river state". 狐池(fox pond) or 狐地(fox land). ニテ means "at", he wrote this letter at the 狐池 in 龍江省 of 北満. 久友 Hisa Tomo, a male name, the writer of this letter. 満巽 Man Tatsumi, I don't know what Man Tatsumi means.

謹賀新年 A Happy New Year. 皆 everyone. すこやかに healthy. 元気 vigorous. です is (indicates present tense).

手紙 a letter. 一通 one, 通 tsu is a numerical unit (nominal measure word) for letters. を indicates object of a verb. 出しません don't write.

でした was (indicates past tense, I didn't drop a line). が but/although. 然して (shikou si te) although. 悪い bad. 心 heart.

から from. でわありません is not.

此の this. 写眞 or 写真 photo. は is/equals. 北満 northern Manchuria. - The following two characters I can't read; it is の町 "town of" - thanks Earthliŋ :-)

の of. 夕 evening. X(寒 cold) -> O(暮 sunset) - thanks Tokyo Nagoya :-)

支 China. 満 Manchuria. の of. 雪 snow.

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    Amazing to me that anyone could decipher that
    – ssb
    Feb 19, 2014 at 15:06
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    I think [満]{みつる} and [巽]{たつみ?} are male names.
    – user1016
    Feb 19, 2014 at 15:40
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    It seems to me that the recipient location is the 大泊町{おおどまりちょう} town and 東三条南 can be a whole street name toponym written in kana as ひがしさんじょうみなみ.
    – nikkou
    Feb 20, 2014 at 13:50
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Front upper:

郵便はがき Post Card (right-to-left)

大日本樺太大泊町
東三条南一ノ十一
1-11 Higashisanjō-Minami (South of East 3rd St.), Ōdomari-chō (town, now Korsakov), Karafuto (Sakhalin), (EMPIRE OF) JAPAN (recipient's address)

髙𫞎久男様 Mr. Hisao Takahashi (recipient)
(Not sure if 髙𫞎 is the legal name or merely handwriting variant of standard 高橋)

北満龍江省ノ孤地ニテ
At (=from) a remotest place in Ryūkō (Longjiang) Province, Northern Manchuria

久友 Hisatomo(?)
Tatsumi
Mitsuru(?) (senders)
(lack of family names suggests they are of the same family with the recipient)

Front lower:

謹賀新年 Happy New Year

□す (□ seems to be an erroneously written 比 instead of 皆)

皆すこやかに元気です
手紙一通を出しません (を may be an error of も)
でしたが然して悪い心
からでわありません (わ should be は in correct spelling)
Everybody is fine and healthy.
We did not send a single letter (or one of letters), but that was not out of ill will.

此の寫眞は北満の町
の夕暮
The photograph is dusk of a town in northern Manchuria.

(The text contains an apparent error and sounds somewhat stiff.)

Back:

雪の滿支 Chinese continent in snow (right-to-left)
(This is the name of a picture postcard series)

enter image description here

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