The Popularization of Mirrors and Changing Self-Perception

(2)“Levels of Civilization” and Contesting Domestic Space in the Taisho Period

Abstract

The “relationship between people and man-made objects” is often mentioned among engineering researchers. Looked at over the mid- and long-term, this relationship is also a matter of interest for historians. This paper focuses on mirrors as man-made objects that have potentially had a significant impact on people’s self-perception. In Japan, the production of plate glass became industrially possible during the Meiji era, also enabling the manufacture of plane glass mirrors. For the first time, people came into contact with their own appearance in a modern way by looking in the mirror. Domestic space continued to be a contested topic. This paper analyzes Taisho-period arguments over that subject, which ultimately rested on concerns held by contemporary intellectuals about Japan’s “level of civilization.”.