Donnerstag, 04. Dezember 2025, 18:00 - 19:30 iCal
u:japan lectures - Klaus J. Friese: "Japanese War Motif Textiles"
Japanese War Motif Textiles: The (Social) Aesthetics of War
Institut für Ostasienwissenschaften/ Abteilung Japanologie, Hof 2, Tür 2.4 (Campus), Seminarraum JAP 1
Spitalgasse 2, 1090 Wien
Antrittsvorlesung, Public Lecture, Vortrag
Teilnahme am Vortrag auch über Zoom Meeting möglich (keine Anmeldung nötig):
univienna.zoom.us/j/63816706236
Meeting-ID: 638 1670 6236 | Passcode: 510451
Abstract:
At the center of this paper are the countless textiles depicting modern war scenes that have been produced in Japan beginning with the 1894-95 Sino-Japanese war and continuing during the Russo-Japanese war of 1904-05 to the Shōwa period. Between 1931 and 1942 textiles depicting modern war technology, tanks, airplanes and (happy looking boy) soldiers were sold to the Japanese mass market. Most of these war motif textiles were everyday clothes worn by all age groups and genders; they were cut in the Japanese style (e.g. kimono or haori jackets) and (probably less frequently) Western styles. These garments are part of a larger world of war themed material culture; this paper locates them at the conjuncture of (social) aesthetics, fashion, commercial interests and politics.
In Western scholarship, these textiles are best known as “propaganda kimonos”; however, this name obscures many aspects and foregrounds visual appearances over the actual practices of embodiment related to these objects. Textiles not only serve to display the designs but shelter and affect their wearers in many more complex ways. For example, the war motif textiles facilitated a bodily experience of the (changing) national identity during war times. The Japanese cut made their wearers feel comfortable. At the same time, as the patterns often included maps, globes and even images of tourism, these textiles operated as a sensory medium through which their owners literally could feel their place in the world from the comforts of home. As another example, the war themed textiles worn by children were a way to express the role of women in the war effort and also could serve as a quasi “magical” protection of the beloved kids.
In addition, it can be argued that the symbolic depiction of strength on the textiles constitutes a way of dealing with fears about the war instead of showing unwavering support. By facilitating the actual embodiment of different meanings the textiles contributed to the agency of their owners. Ambiguous (and sometimes even contradictory) practices show how material culture is an integral part of social aesthetics through which war is normalized and included in everyday life.
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Veranstalter
Institut für Ostasienwissenschaften/ Abteilung Japanologie
Kontakt
u:japan lectures
Department of East Asian Studies
Japanese Studies
01427743814
ujapanlectures.ostasien@univie.ac.at
Erstellt am Montag, 01. Dezember 2025, 09:16
Letzte Änderung am Montag, 01. Dezember 2025, 09:16