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Suzume's avatar

Those little keychains that the old man gave your son all say ‘makoto’ (‘sincerity’). That was the motto per se of the famous shogunate police at the end of the Bakumatsu period- the Shinsengumi! That is the robin’s egg blue + white combo of their flag! 😄

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Sarah Walker's avatar

While you’re there, I highly recommend reading Jun'ichirō Tanizaki’s essay ‘In Praise of Shadows.’ It was written in 1933, and it’s the most delicious piece of writing about Japanese aesthetics, and about how the West craves light, but Japanese aesthetics are all about darkness and mystery. The whole thing is online here!

https://neeta.works/on-graphic-design/readings/Tanizaki-In_Praise_of_Shadows.pdf

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