askmaxim
A Japanese double-headed eagle item was spotted in Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Pref., Japan, in 2002 (photo copyright Maxim I. Buyakov).
http://www.kanjidic.com/eagle/double-headed-eagle-japan.jpg
While a one-head 'natural eagle' symbol is wide-spread in Japan, e.g. a grille emblem on a Toyota Harrier, the Japanese-market sibling of a Lexus RX crossover family, a double-headed eagle wearing three crowns with Christian crosses is a rare find. Note that the double-headed eagle item in question is very similar to the Russian Empire's coat of arms image. The main difference is another crown with a cross on the eagle's chest where the Russian would carry Saint George the Dragon Slayer.
Note also that a crown with a cross is a tremendously popular symbol in Japan, as, for instance, the badge of Toyota Crown premium sedan.
This 'Japanese double-headed eagle' plate was found in a public elementary school as an award in a traffic safety contest issued by Hamamatsu City School Administration in 2001. The Japanese text under the eagle reads the above. Remarkably, this was a purely domestic local Japanese event, not related to Russia. But it is also an official event which would not permit an irrelevant decoration. The school Principal told me that was a symbol of the Japanese statehood. I showed him the eagle in my Russian passport,
and that was a revelation for him. He was moving his finger over the elements confirming the similarity. A vice-principal was standing by with the same attitude. Apparently, they knew nothing about the Russian eagle before, and the pictured item was purely 'their' Japanese eagle to them.
http://www.kanjidic.com/eagle/double-headed-eagle-japan.jpg
While a one-head 'natural eagle' symbol is wide-spread in Japan, e.g. a grille emblem on a Toyota Harrier, the Japanese-market sibling of a Lexus RX crossover family, a double-headed eagle wearing three crowns with Christian crosses is a rare find. Note that the double-headed eagle item in question is very similar to the Russian Empire's coat of arms image. The main difference is another crown with a cross on the eagle's chest where the Russian would carry Saint George the Dragon Slayer.
Note also that a crown with a cross is a tremendously popular symbol in Japan, as, for instance, the badge of Toyota Crown premium sedan.
This 'Japanese double-headed eagle' plate was found in a public elementary school as an award in a traffic safety contest issued by Hamamatsu City School Administration in 2001. The Japanese text under the eagle reads the above. Remarkably, this was a purely domestic local Japanese event, not related to Russia. But it is also an official event which would not permit an irrelevant decoration. The school Principal told me that was a symbol of the Japanese statehood. I showed him the eagle in my Russian passport,
and that was a revelation for him. He was moving his finger over the elements confirming the similarity. A vice-principal was standing by with the same attitude. Apparently, they knew nothing about the Russian eagle before, and the pictured item was purely 'their' Japanese eagle to them.
