In this lecture, Dr. Gideon Fujiwara (Lethbridge) discusses the ritualization of the "Utakai Hajime" imperial poetry reading-ceremony in the early Meiji Period.  Within the context of nation-building programs carried out by the Meiji government, the inclusion of poems composed by civilians in the poetry ceremony represented an attempt to make the imperial family more visible to the people.

This presentation was delivered on 24th November, 2017 at the Institute of Asian Research at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver.