Monument Hakko Ichuiu

The Hakko Ichiu Monument, also known as the Peace Tower, stands in Miyazaki Prefecture and was completed in 1940 to mark the 2,600th anniversary of the legendary accession of Emperor Jimmu. The thirty-six-meter stone tower incorporates stones gathered from across the empire and bears the phrase "Hakko Ichiu," loosely translated as "the eight corners of the world under one roof." Tokuriki's print likely treats the monument as a [meisho-e](/glossary/meisho-e)—a famous-place image—rendering its angular masonry against the surrounding pine grove. The composition would rely on flat color planes typical of mid-century [shin-hanga](/glossary/shin-hanga), with subtle [bokashi](/glossary/bokashi) gradation in the sky to suggest atmosphere. Although Tokuriki is better known for Kyoto subjects and views of Mount Fuji, he produced numerous prints of contemporary monuments and architecture during the late 1930s and 1940s, when wartime publishers commissioned imagery of nationally significant landmarks for both domestic and overseas audiences.