A form of naming taboo practice is observed in Kai Mu Miao Shi Que Ming. This stone inscription is a shi que ming (decorative stone gateway pillar) dedicated to a stone that was believed to be the transformed body of the mother of Xia Hou Qi, the second emperor of the Xia dynasty. It should therefore have been named “Qi Mu” (mother of Qi), but the name was altered to “Kai Mu” to avoid the character “qi”, which is one of the characters in the real name of Qian Han Jing Di.

  The naming taboo practice, which avoids using names out of reverence, helps reinforce the authority of the imperial family. It is thus believed that the name was altered to “Kai Mu” with the aim of aggrandizing the emperor associated with the stele.

  In the present study, I first examine the regulations of the naming taboo in the Han period to confirm the practice in such things as rituals associated with the imperial authority as well as in documents to be submitted for the emperor to read.

  Next, based on the time consistency in “She gu er hui xin (abandon the old and avoid the new)” written by Tan Gong in Liji and the emergence of the worship of the Qi Mu stone observed in historical materials, I suggest that Wu Di altered the name of the inscription according to the naming taboo to support the Qi Mu stone worship and reinforce the imperial authority. I further suggest that this worship, which the emperor supported, involved magical arts.

  The Qi Mu stone worship had been maintained since it was supported by Wu Di until it was temporarily abolished as a result of the li reforms carried out by Cheng Di. I consider the significance of these reforms by examining the outline of the Qi Mu stone worship and the then-national policy of religious service convergence, and I argue that the reforms were mainly aimed at abolishing magical rituals and that the Qi Mu stone worship had been maintained as a ritual to call for rain.

  By studying the naming taboo practice in the inscription, I argue that the ritual for the Qi Mu stone was maintained in relation to imperial authority during the period from the alteration of the name of the inscription by Wu Di to the erection of the current stele.

  When a large amount of bronzeware was excavated in the Song period, the emperor ordered that the pieces  be collected and systems and characters be studied in order to restore ancient li for political reasons. Emperors in the late Beisong and early Nansong periods had replicas of the bronzeware made to give to their trusted vassals. Meanwhile, the literati began to collect bronzeware and identify the characters on the pieces (zhong ding wen).

  For example, Xia Song focused on gu wen zi (paleography) and compiled Gu Wen Si Sheng Yun in 1044 (the fourth year of the Qing Li era) to study bronze inscriptions. This is the origin of Chinese paleography, which was later taken over by Yang Nanzhong, Ouyang Xiu, Liu Chang, Lu Dalin, Wang Fu, Zhao Jiucheng, Xue Shanggong, Wang Qiu, Wang Chu, Dai Dong and others, establishing the trend to study gu wen zi. In the same period, various dictionaries and texts regarding jin shi (metal and stone inscriptions) were published. These pioneering works influenced the kao zheng (evidential) scholarship in the Qing period.

  The study of jin shi originated, and that of gu wen zi prospered, in the Song period, but ink writing in “gu wen zhuan shu” (yun chao gu wen [copies of paleography] and zhong ding wen) was extremely rare then and previous studies on such texts are scarce. In the present study, as an example of ink writing, I compare the forms of the characters in a piece of rare ink writing in the seal script from the Nansong period stored in the National Palace Museum in Taiwan ― a transcript of Pan Gu Xu by Chang Biao in “gu wen zhuan shu” ― with “gu wen zi” in order to reveal the contents of texts dealing with “gu wen zhuan shu” at that time and to analyze the background of their production; to identify the texts that were available then; and to consider the viewpoint of the literati regarding the study of Chinese characters. Thus, I reveal several important details of gu wen zhuan shu in the Song period.

  Several calligraphy associations, such as Konohana Kai, Nihon Shodo Kai and Hosho Kai, were established in the Meiji era, and famous calligraphers at that time include Gado Ono, Shundo Nishikawa and Meikaku Kusakabe. On the other hand, Dainihon Sensho Shorei Kai led by Hiromichi Yamakoshi has not been given much attention thus far.

  Dainihon Sensho Shorei Kai held Sensho Tenrankai at the exhibition site in Ueno Park from 1892 onward. After the fourth Naikoku Kangyo Hakurankai in 1895, exhibitions stopped including a calligraphy section during the Meiji era; moreover, there were no public calligraphy exhibitions. In this environment, Sensho Tenrankai was an exhibition for contemporary calligraphers and effectively served as a public exhibition for calligraphers under the age of 20, who were expected to lead the next generation. It was thus a very important opportunity for calligraphers at that time. Shunkai Bundo, who later organized Nihon Shodo Sakushin Kai and successfully held exhibitions at Tokyo-fu Bijutukan, also submitted his works to Sensho Tenrankai and earned a good reputation. Sensho Tenrankai was, so to speak, the predecessor of later large-scale public exhibitions such as Nihon Shodo Sakushin Kai.

  Hiromichi had connections in politics. Leveraging these and responding to the trends in the art world, he worked to promote calligraphy earlier than Sao Watanabe and others. He joined Nihon Shodo Kai in the late Meiji era and played a central role in its administrative work, significantly contributing to the promotion of calligraphy. While other artists dedicated themselves to the movement to establish art museums in the Meiji era, calligraphers organized movements to promote calligraphy, paying attention to the trends in the art world. In the present study, I investigate the activities of calligraphers and their associations, as well as exhibitions of calligraphy at that time ― especially Hiromichi Yamakoshi and Dainihon Sensho Shorei Kai ― to add further depth to our understanding of the field.

  The main objective of the present study is to reveal the network of the literati formed around the “Wakan Hosho Tenrankai” (“Hosho Kai”) held by Kyozan Yamamoto, a famous modern calligrapher (1863 – 1934; real name Yoshisada Yamamoto; born in present-day Gifu-shi). Kyozan held “Hosho Kai” at the Kyoto Prefectural Library on December 4, 1913, supported in many ways by various members of the modern literati such as calligraphers, scholars, collectors, politicians and publishers from Japan and China. One hundred and seven fine calligraphic works were selected and displayed there, and they were published by Aburaya Hakubundo as a book called Wakan Hosho Tenrankai Kinen Jo with an afterword by Kyozan in February of the following year.

  Specifically, I examine several letters related to Wakan Hosho Tenrankai Kinen Jo to reveal the background of “Hosho Kai”. I also examine communications related to “Hosho Kai”, with reference to the correspondence of Tenrai Hidai, Luo Zhenyu, Wang Guowei, Uzan Nagao, Koreaki Isono and Tsuyoshi Inukai to consider the importance of “Hosho Kai” in the history of modern Japanese calligraphy and in the cultural exchange between Japan and China. Based on the foregoing, I further investigate the inheritance of “Hosho Kai” by the present world of calligraphy and associations of the literati to reveal the fusion of exhibitions of traditional, exemplary calligraphy with contemporary calligraphy, and the development of calligraphy to the present. As the first association of calligraphers in the Taisho era, “Hosho Kai” showed its intention to preserve the tradition and embrace contemporary calligraphy while forming part of the international network of literati in the calligraphy world in this era.

  The environment surrounding calligraphy and painting changed drastically along with the political environment from the late Joseon dynasty to the Korean Empire period. The painting bureau and SaJaChong were abolished in 1894 in the Gabo Reform and as a result, the Court Painters, SaJaGuans and other employees searched for other ways to continue practicing painting and calligraphy. Moreover, while descendants of the Yohang literati were engaged in politics as public employees and actively negotiated with other countries, they interacted with foreigners through calligraphy as well, the impact of which is confirmed in their surviving works. Given this background, I believe that at that time there were “professional calligraphers” in a broad sense, who made a living with calligraphy such as writers, connoisseurs and scholars, even if they were not what we think of as professional calligraphers today.

  In the present study, based on the above premise, I mainly explore the activities of three bureaucrats-turned-calligraphers who practiced calligraphy in the late Joseon dynasty and the Korean Empire period, namely Kim Okgyun, Oh Sechang and Kim Gyujin, to reveal both the processes by which Korean calligraphers at that time became full-time professionals as well as the characteristics of their calligraphy-related activities during the colonial period.

  As a result, I conclude that the origins of full-time calligraphers in the colonial period can be traced to the practices of calligraphers before colonization; the latter were mainly former bureaucrats who were also active in politics, and had both the knowledge and skills to become full-time calligraphers. Even when their country was colonized and they could no longer retain their political roles as bureaucrats, they sought ways to make a living with calligraphy in various areas. This led to the diversification of full-time calligraphers, with their works manifesting the characteristics of modern Korea.

  This paper deals with Seido Kikuchi and Rendo Ohashi, who seem to have taken over the network of art collectors of Seido. I primarily examine Kikuchi  Seido  Nikki and some rare materials kept by the Ohashi family to reveal the network of Seido in the early Showa era. As a result of my examination, I conclude that Seido had a close relationship with the group of art collectors led by Bokudo Inukai in the early Showa era.

  In addition, I identify two important points that will help to reveal the bigger picture of the network of art collectors in the period from the Xinhai Revolution to the end of World War II, a transitional period in the history of art collection. First, the activities of collectors between Japan and China after Luo Zhenyu's return to China need to be researched. Second, the roles of the collectors in the network who were contemporaries of Seido Kikuchi (Senro Kawai, Rokkyo Sugitani, Sentaro Yamaoka, Kyozan Yamamoto, Hekido Tanabe, Ginjiro Fujiwara and Tatsujiro Hashimoto), as well as the roles of the collectors who led the next generation (Kikujiro Takashima, Yasunosuke Ogiwara and Tsuneichi Inoue) and of those in China (Choji Sasaki and Shunzaburo Kuroki), need to be considered.

  The network of Seido included many Japanese art collectors other than those mentioned above, but few  points of contact between Chinese/Korean and Japanese art collectors, including their social relationships, have been confirmed; consequently, Chinese/Korean and Japanese art collectors are likely to have had separate networks. This fact will have to be taken into account when Chinese paintings, calligraphy and calligraphic rubbings are studied.