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The last image Obsession (Shûnen) the article mentions is a Swastika which though technically correct is actually a Sauvastika. The Swastika associated with Naz

The last image Obsession (Shûnen) the article mentions is a Swastika which though technically correct is actually a Sauvastika. The Swastika associated with Nazi bends to the right. The most common Japanese reading for 卍 the symbol that bends to the left is Manji. The 卍 (manji) symbol is frequently used to indicate a temple on maps in Japan, although due to confusion that tourists frequently have regarding 卍 and 卐 this is slowly changing.

mytailorisrich 2y ago
Yes, it's a classical Buddhist symbol (and Hinduist), hence why it's used to indicate Buddhist temples on maps and appears here in Hokusai's art.
0xbadcafebee 2y ago
Fwiw the term 'sauvastika' was invented in 1850 by European scholars to try to describe/explain why sometimes it went the other direction. These are the same geniuses who helped popularize the myth of the "Aryans" that led to Hitler's idiotic interpretation (he literally thought "Aryans" were Nordic peoples who invaded India, descended from the lost city of Atlantis, despite the actual Indo-Aryan people being basically Iranian...). The word doesn't mean anything and you can just say swastika. Some cultures have specific meanings for specific directions, like how for Buddhists the left-turning one represents the Buddha's footprints, and for Hindus the right-turning one represents the expansion of the universe. 'The one associated with the Nazis' is therefore also associated with many other cultures and uses, but we Westerners being poorly educated and not exposed to other cultures, can only focus on the Western symbolism (ignoring how it was a popular symbol throughout the West from 1880-1920).
- ahazred8ta 2y ago
  There were youth groups whose surviving members are still salty about having to shut down. https://duckduckgo.com/?q=%22order+of+the+white+swastika%22&ia=web https://duckduckgo.com/?q=%22order+of+the+white+swastika%22&...

mytailorisrich 2y ago

Yes, it's a classical Buddhist symbol (and Hinduist), hence why it's used to indicate Buddhist temples on maps and appears here in Hokusai's art.

0xbadcafebee 2y ago

Fwiw the term 'sauvastika' was invented in 1850 by European scholars to try to describe/explain why sometimes it went the other direction. These are the same geniuses who helped popularize the myth of the "Aryans" that led to Hitler's idiotic interpretation (he literally thought "Aryans" were Nordic peoples who invaded India, descended from the lost city of Atlantis, despite the actual Indo-Aryan people being basically Iranian...). The word doesn't mean anything and you can just say swastika. Some cultures have specific meanings for specific directions, like how for Buddhists the left-turning one represents the Buddha's footprints, and for Hindus the right-turning one represents the expansion of the universe. 'The one associated with the Nazis' is therefore also associated with many other cultures and uses, but we Westerners being poorly educated and not exposed to other cultures, can only focus on the Western symbolism (ignoring how it was a popular symbol throughout the West from 1880-1920).

ahazred8ta 2y ago
There were youth groups whose surviving members are still salty about having to shut down. https://duckduckgo.com/?q=%22order+of+the+white+swastika%22&ia=web https://duckduckgo.com/?q=%22order+of+the+white+swastika%22&...