• Asian review of World Histories
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.265-293
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• 2013

The second volume of the Iwakura Reports is the writing on Britain. What is interesting, here, is the fact that the mission had visited the large factories in the major industrial cities. The editor of the reports in particular recorded the productive processes of goods at many factories, and wrote his own impressions of the landscapes of those cities. Those records let us know the real situation of the British economy at the time. Japanese historians admit that the activities of the Iwakura mission largely contributed to Japan's modernization. But there are few studies that analyzed the second volume of the reports which had mainly described modern factories and industrial cities. The purpose of this paper is to summarize the records of the reports on the British industry, and to examine what they recognized from the industrial civilization. The Iwakura Reports would furnish important information to the notables that had initiated the early industrialization in Japan. After the mission's visit, some British companies' export to Japan increased rapidly. What is more important, however, is that the British economy was losing its own vitality in the late Victorian age in which Japan began to be rapidly industrialized. During the Japanese industrialization, some Japanese diplomats and factory-owners might have realized the decline of the British industry. Britain began to be overtaken by her rival countries such as the United States and Germany. The Iwakura Reports do not let us know the change of the British manufacture in the late nineteenth century. Later, the leading figures of Japan's industrialization might focus on the rise of Germany or America. As the Iwakura mission had visited Britain in the early stage of the competition between Britain and other rival states, they could not know the real situation of the British economy. Furthermore, with compiling his manuscripts, the editor of the reports could not help being based upon the factory-owners' explanations and their brochures. This is the reason why he focused only on the excellence and competitiveness of British manufacture.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Costume
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• v.60 no.5
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• pp.71-87
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• 2010

The purpose of the study is analyzing Japanese modern costume, through examining legislation process and the relics of Chickimkwan's and Juimkwan's court costume. The results of the study are as follows. First, the proposer of civil court costume, established in 1872, was Iwakura Mission dispatched to America and Europe. The Mission realized the importance of preparing western-style costume in civilization from experience wearing traditional clothing at ceremony of presenting credentials in America. Afterwards, the Mission proposed that the government accept western-style as civil court costume and became first wearers in Japanese in England. Second, the difference, between ordinance and actual clothes worn by Iwakura Mission, occurred in process of legislation in 1872. That might be considered as trial and error in introducing different culture. The coexistence of England and French styles was unified into French style by the revision of civil court costume in 1886. Third, the pattern of paulownia embroidered on civil court costume was utilized as symbol of Japan. While the costume of Chickimkwan was embroidered by the pattern of 7 and 5 leaves paulownia, that of Juimkwan was 5 and 3 leaves expressing their grades. Fourth, relics research showed how formed manufacturer information and enacted design were in embroidery. The relics seemed to be manufactured in Japan, because emblem of Mitsukosi tailor was embroidered on inner part of the back of collar of Chickimkwan in Nara Women's University, Japan and that of Yamasaki on left inner pocket of Juimkwan in the Independence Hall, Korea. The embroider techniques comprised forming by filler particles according to the design, filling up coiled gold threads and expressing stem with gold threads and spangles. As preemptive study, establishment process of Japanese civil court costume in this study will help understand form characteristics appeared in civil court costume act of Korean Empire.