■Events　Nichibunken-IHJ Forum

2017-12-8  The 12th Nichibunken-IHJ Forum

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Speaker

“Ornamental Diplomacy: Emperor Meiji and the Monarchs of the Modern World”
John Breen   Professor, International Research Center for Japanese Studies

Professor Breen argues that the Meiji emperor played a pivotal role in the construction of modern Japan’s power relations with its Western and Asian neighbors. Discussions of the Meiji emperor are absent from diplomatic histories; diplomacy does not feature in studies of the Meiji emperor.
The emperor’s role was a dynamic ritual one. At the heart of the strategy which he deployed was the distribution of ornaments: the collars, cordons, medals and ribbons of the modern Japanese honors system. This was part of an active exchange that enabled the emperor to engage immediately with the sovereigns of Europe and Asia.
Professor Breen will explore the fashioning of the modern Japanese honors’ system in early Meiji, and its deployment by the emperor in rituals of diplomacy conducted in the imperial palace up until the outbreak of war with China in 1894. He will note the contested nature of this emperor-centered diplomacy, and make special reference to the ornamental dimension of Japan’s relationship with Britain, Russia and Korea. He will interrogate the role of ritual, and the exchange of gifts, in modern Japanese diplomacy but, ultimately, seek to demonstrate simply that the Meiji emperor was indeed a key player in the construction of modern Japan’s power relations.

Commentator

Sven Saalar   Professor, Sophia University

Place:

Lecture Hall, International House of Japan (Address: 5-11-16 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-0032)

Start time:

18:30

End time:

20:00

Enrollment:

Required

Fee ：

Free

How to enroll:

Go to IHJ web site to register

Host:

International House of Japan

Co-host:

International Research Center for Japanese Studies