160309-0034 - Swallows Feeding Young

Advertising postcard for Teikoku Seimei life insurance (帝国生命, now Asahi Seimei) with an illustration of a a swallow couple feeding the chicks in their nest, ca. 1928 (Showa 3).

The caption reads, “Parental Love! Insurance!”.

The first truly Japanese insurance company was Tokio Marine, established in 1879 (Meiji 12). Meiji Seimei, founded in 1881 (Meiji 14), was the first Japanese life insurance company. Teikoku Seimei was established seven years later, in 1888 (Meiji 21).

Over the following five years more than ten additional life insurance companies set up business.

The Japanese government jumped into the market when it launched the Postal Life Insurance Service, popularly known as Kampo, in 1916 (Taisho 5).

Japanese text: 慈愛！保険！帝国生命 (Jiai! Hoken! Teikoku Seimei)