Item number: M512

Year: AD 1940

Material: Bronze

Size: 204 x 188 x 7 mm

Weight: 1,277 g

Provenance: Private Collector, Taiwan, 2026

This is a commemorative bronze mirror for the Emperor Jimmu Festival, issued by the Bureau of Educational Affairs of the Office of the Governor-General of Taiwan.

In form, it is a circular, traditional Japanese-style mirror (wakagami); one side is polished for reflection, whilst the other is adorned with decorative motifs. The central thematic motif is the “Mount Penglai Landscape”, a popular subject that has endured since approximately the thirteenth century, which allegorically equates Japan with the legendary immortal mountain in the overseas realm described in Chinese lore of the second century BC. Japanese mirrors possessing compositions remarkably similar to this piece were already being crafted by numerous renowned master artisans during the Edo period. The upper rim of the mirror slightly extends upward, featuring a small hole for a cord to be threaded for hanging. The reverse side of the mirror celebrates longevity and auspiciousness through depictions of pine, bamboo, plum, turtle, and crane. On the left stands a plum tree, on the right a tall pine, with bamboo subtly obscured behind the right side of the pine tree. Roughly aligned along the central axis are two cranes calling to one another—one in flight and the other perched below—whilst at the lower left, a sacred turtle extends its head from amongst jagged rocks and breaking waves. On the upper right, an inscription cast in Ming-style Chinese characters reads “Emperor Jimmu Festival and the 2,600th Anniversary of the Empire”; lower on the left, smaller characters state “Respectfully Cast by the Bureau of Educational Affairs, Office of the Governor-General of Taiwan, 3 April, Showa 15”.

The “Emperor Jimmu Festival”, an imperial court ceremony of the Japanese Imperial Household, originated from the mausoleum rites (Goryōsai) held during the late Edo period to commemorate the anniversary of Emperor Jimmu’s death. It was revived in AD 1868 and, following calendar reforms in AD 1872, was fixed to 3 April. Upon the promulgation of the Imperial Household Rites Order in AD 1908, it was formally designated as a major court ceremony, before being abolished following the Second World War. Showa 15 (AD 1940) marked the milestone 2,600th anniversary of the accession of Japan’s legendary first emperor, Emperor Jimmu, according to official Japanese imperial chronology. Occurring three years after the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War and on the eve of the Pacific War, the Japanese government sought vigorously to utilise this anniversary to strengthen national spiritual mobilisation and a total war system. In that same year, on Empire Day (11 February), the Office of the Governor-General of Taiwan officially permitted Taiwanese people to adopt Japanese-style names to accelerate the Imperialisation (Kōminka) movement. Furthermore, the authorities promoted the widespread establishment of Shinto shrines, whilst local regions across the island mobilised to conduct the “Sacred Flame Relay”—a procession modelled after the Olympic torch relay, transporting a “sacred flame” between major Shinto shrines in Taiwan. Combining Shinto beliefs with ideals of loyalty to the Emperor and patriotism, these official and popular celebratory activities tightly intertwined Imperialisation policies, school education, and social mobilisation. Nevertheless, beyond the grandiose slogan of “Eight Corners of the World Under One Roof (Hakkō Ichiu); Revering the Heavenly Enterprise” proclaimed by Jirō Morioka, Director-General of Political Affairs at the Office of the Governor-General, economic controls and material shortages already foreshadowed an even more arduous life ahead.

物件編號: M512

年代: 公元 1940 年

材質: 青銅

尺寸: 204 x 188 x 7 mm

重量: 1,277 g

來源: 台灣私人收藏 2026

這是一面祝賀神武天皇祭的紀念銅鏡，由台灣總督府文教局發行。

形制為圓形仿古和鏡，一面拋光以供鑑覽，另一面為紋樣。紋樣主題為約十三世紀以來便經久不衰的「蓬萊山圖」，意即將日本喻為中國公元前二世紀傳說中的海外仙山。與此鏡構圖極為類似的和鏡，於江戶時期已出自多位名家之手。和鏡上端邊緣稍微延伸，有小洞以供穿繩懸掛。鏡背以松、竹、梅、龜、鶴等圖樣慶賀長壽與吉祥，左側為梅樹，右側為高大的松樹，竹掩於松樹右側。大致落於中軸上的，是一飛起、一停落，相對而鳴的鶴，左下側的波濤與嶙峋的礁岩間有靈龜探首。右上以明體漢字鐫銘「神武天皇祭　並紀元二千六百年」；左側靠下為較小的漢字「臺灣總督府文教局謹鑄，昭和十五年四月三日」

日本皇室的宮中大祭「神武天皇祭」源於江戶末年的祭祀神武天皇忌日的御陵祭，於明治元年復興，明治五年因改曆定於四月三日舉行，並於明治四十一年制定《皇室祭祀令》後列為宮中大祭，二戰後則遭廢除。昭和十五年（西元1940年）正值日本官方設定第一代神武天皇即位滿二千六百年的「皇紀2600年」整數大慶，時值中日戰爭爆發已屆三年，與太平洋戰爭爆發前夕，日本政府極力藉此強化國民精神動員與總力戰體制。當時臺灣總督府於該年紀元節（2月11日）正式「允許」臺灣人實施「改姓名」，以促進皇民化。此外，亦推動廣設神社，全島各地亦配合動員辦理「御神火奉納繼走」，仿奧林匹克聖火傳遞儀式，於臺灣神社間傳遞「神火」。這些結合神道教信仰與忠君愛國思想的官方與民間奉祝活動，將皇民化政策、學校教育與社會動員緊密交織。但在臺灣總督府總務長官森岡二朗「八紘一宇，天業奉頌」的宏大標語之外，經濟統制與物資短缺，已預示了接下來更加嚴峻的生活。