Meiji bunka shi: Shūkyō-hen [Cultural History of Meiji: Vol. VI, Religion]. Ed. Kishimoto Hideo. Tokyo: Yōyōsha, 1954. ix, 577. Chronology. 450/1000 yen. - Japanese Religion in the Meiji Era. Comp. and ed. Kishimoto Hideo. Tr. John F. Howes. Japanese Culture in the Meiji Era, Vol. II, Religion, Centenary Culture Council Series. Tokyo: Ōbunsha, 1956. xix, 377. Illustrations, Index. 1800 yen or $10.00. - Window on Japan. By Leonora E. Lea. Greenwich, Conn.: Seabury Press, 1956. xii, 147. Map, Illustrations, Appendixes, Glossary. $2.00 (paper).

When tea ceremony, flower arrangement, Noh drama, linked verse (renga), monochrome painting, and dry-landscape gardening are said to represent Japanese culture, it is usually assumed that they were produced and fostered by Zen Buddhism. If we are fully to understand these art forms, we must therefore make a systematic study of their relationship to Zen. The particular species of Zen diat is said to have produced and fostered these arts is the Rinzai Zen developed by Muso at the beginning of the Muromachi Period (1336–1573) when Zen first became a pervasive influence in the cultural history of Japan. Let us look, then, at the position of Muromachi Zen in the history of Japanese Buddhism.

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Japanese Religion in the Meiji Era. Compiled and edited by Kishimoto Hideo. Translated and adapted by John F. Howes. Tokyo, 1956. (Volume II of the series Japanese Culture in the Meiji Era (Meiji Bunhashi), issued by the Centenary Culture Council (Kaikoku Hyakunen Kinen Bunka Jigyookai.)

Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society ◽

10.1017/s0035869x00115886 ◽

1957 ◽

Vol 89 (3-4) ◽

pp. 219-219

Author(s):

C. Blacker

Keyword(s):

Japanese Culture ◽

Japanese Religion ◽

Meiji Era

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Visual state symbols of Japan during the Meiji era

Человек и культура ◽

10.25136/2409-8744.2021.4.35261 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 73-90

Author(s):

Marina Yurevna Bocharova

Keyword(s):

Japanese Culture ◽

European Culture ◽

Woodblock Prints ◽

Meiji Era ◽

The Status ◽

Market Production ◽

History Of ◽

National Flag ◽

Xix Century ◽

First Time

This article is dedicated to the visual state symbols of Japan of the late XIX century (national flag, personal seal of the emperor, order and medal of honor, and military insignia). The aforementioned symbols are viewed as the attributes of the status. First institutionalized graphic symbols in the history of the country have emerged under the influence of European culture and actualized elements of the ”old” Japanese culture, primarily  from the emblems “mon” used to decorate and identify an individual or a family. This article explores the mechanisms of their emergence, as well as the mechanisms of evolution and introduction into the cultural environment based on the material of print mass-market production (postcards and Ukiyo-e woodblock prints). The author’s main contribution consists in comprehensive analysis of the state symbols of Japan of the late XIX century as the attributes of the status, which has been conducted for the first time. The flag, order and emblem of the emperor were used to demonstrate their direct affiliation to the department, as an attribute of a festive event, or indicate their authority. The research also employed postcards as a rarely used source for studying political symbols, or used in the context of ideology alone. The visual images of print production illustrate the reality of using state symbols, as well as within the framework of artistic techniques expand their use as the symbols.

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