No. 179, August / October 2011

Small digital exhibition: Kaleidoscope of Books (7)
"Japanese learned and were amazed at German Culture and Technology in modern times" now released

The year 2011 is the 150th anniversary of Japan-Germany friendship, which started with the conclusion of a treaty of amity and commerce between Prussia and Japan in 1861. For Japan at the time, Germany (then Prussia) was a leading country as a model for its modernization.

On July 20, 2011, the 7th Kaleidoscope of Books "Japanese learned and were amazed at German Culture and Technology in modern times" (Japanese only) was released online. It introduces three interesting topics among various events in the 150 years of Japan-Germany exchange, using a variety of materials. The first chapter "Germany in the capital Tokyo" explains how German architects got involved in the city planning of the capital Tokyo. The second chapter "Technology and culture brought by German prisoners of war" exemplifies things brought to Japan by German prisoners of World War I, such as Beethoven's Symphony No.9 and baumkuchen. The third chapter "Marveling at the German advanced technology預ppearance of the airship LZ 127 in 1929" shows how Japanese people were amazed and excited at the advanced technology of the airship Luftschiff Zeppelin which cruised from Germany to Japan.

Kaleidoscope of Books (Japanese only)
This small digital exhibition introduces books on various themes, topical or of interest, from the NDL collections.