‘Shiwasu’ is the last of the old month names that is commonly used in modern Japan. Since the nation switched to the Gregorian calendar in 1873 the months are only known by a number - month-one, month-two, month-three etc. The end of the solar year and the beginning of the New Year is one of the most important holidays in Japan. It is a very exciting and busy time for everybody, especially the priests. Every new year Japanese visit the Shinto and Buddhist temples to get their blessings for the New Year. The last month of the year is marked by the rushing about of busy priests as they prepare for New Year's Day. If you are in Japan on New Year's Day it will seem like every person in Japan is at their local temple at the stroke of midnight. The Japanese look to the New Year as a chance to shake off all the burdens of the previous year and get a fresh start.
The Phoenix is the symbol of righteousness and often connected with the
Empress. It is a representation of
the mandate from heaven giving the Emperor
the authority to rule. Legend says that only the ‘Kiri’ tree
is beautiful enough for the Phoenix to land
on.
December is represented by the ‘Kiri’ (Paulownia)
plant. The Kiri is the official symbol of the Prime Minister
of Japan and of the democratically elected system of government. This was the
Mon of the Minamoto family, the
originators of the Shogun title. ‘Minamoto’
was an honorary surname given to members of the Imperial family not in line for
the throne. The name Minamoto is also
sometimes referred to as ‘Genji’. The
famous novel ‘The Tale of Genji’ is
about the Minamoto. The Mon with three Paulownia leaves on the bottom and the
blossoms on top numbering 5-7-5, was
awarded by the Heian Emperor to Minamoto no Yoshiie (1039 - 1106).
Lesser members of the Minamoto clan
had a similar Mon with the flowers on top numbering 3-5-3. One of the requirements for becoming Shogun was to be from
the Minamoto. In other words, the
Shogun had to be a blood relative of the Emperor.
Tokugawa
Ieyasu (1543 - 1616) was the last Shogun to rule Japan. The Tokugawa
government held all the political and
military power during the Edo period.
The Emperor was just a figurehead in
the capital of Kyoto. All important decisions were made in Edo. Tokugawa
Ieyasu became Shogun by forging his ancestry to show that he was
descended from the Minamoto. The
Tokugawa government was always afraid of rebellion because of this.
After 250
years the Emperor Meiji was finally
able to regain power from the Tokugawa Shogunate.
At the beginning of the Meiji
period (1868-1912) the Emperor Meiji
took political control away from the Tokugawa. This was the beginning of modern
Japan. He moved the capital from Kyoto to Edo and
renamed it Tokyo (eastern capital). He gave political power to the lords and
samurai that had helped restore the power of the Emperor. The Paulownia Mon is a symbol of democratic government
legitimised by the Emperor, in the
tradition of the Minamoto.
Design Notes:
ReplyDeleteGenerally the look of this suit follows the traditional. However, due to the graphical limitations of MS Excel, I decided to show only part of the 'Phoenix', that part being its tail. I have left it ambiguous as to whether the Phoenix is landing or taking off.
The Japanese text on one of the junk cards reads 'Death or Glory' as this is a family motto. The symbol above this text is my family mon, designed by myself for use in Japan and in any Japanese context. This design mirrors the family flag of a black saltire on white(although here it appears against the yellow background of the card).