About Meiji Taisho Project

"MEIJI TAISHO 1868-1926" (http://www.meijitaisho.net) was put together as a sequel to the icon set "EDO 1603-1867 The Tools of Japan", which was released by mikworks in 2004. It is an expanded collection with additional web contents and desktop wallpapers centred on a set of icons that reproduces miscellaneous tools of the Meiji and Taisho eras and is a mixed-media project for the visual enjoyment of tools and folkways of modern Japan.
Contents currently undergoing development include icon set and desktop wallpapers, the explanatory content for each of them and topic content dealing with associated fashions and folkways. In addition, we are launching an independent image stock site as a reference guide to the illustrations to be inserted into the written content of the explanations and topics.
Currently, basically the only thing that can be viewed in the English version is sets of icons. Where desktop wallpaper is concerned, by accessing it through each Japanese language entry page, downloading is possible from the desktop list in the product sheet, which is being continually updated.

Downloadable Contents

The icon set, desktop wallpapers etc. that can be downloaded in this project are all freeware as long as they are not used for commercial purposes. If you would like to make a donation to support this project, click link below.

How to Use Windows Icon

1. Right-click on the “shortcut*” of the icon you wish to change and select “Properties” from the menu.
   (* How to create a shortcut: Right click the file or application of your choice and select “Create a shortcut” from the menu.)
2. When the properties window opens, click “Change Icon”.
3. When the “Change Icon” window opens, the system icons already in the computer will be displayed. In order to select a different item that has been downloaded, click “Browse…”
4. When “Browse…” has been selected, a new “Change Icon” dialogue window will open and allow you to browse through the files. Use “Look in” to open the “Icons” folder in the “Meiji Taisho” folder that you have downloaded and display the list of icons. Select the icon you want and click “Open”.
5. When “Open” has been selected, the “Change Icon” window will open again, and it will switch to the Change Icon screen. The icon you just selected on the Browse screen will be displayed in actual size in the space labeled “Current Icon”, so click “OK”. If you want to check out some other items at this stage, click the “Browse” button again and repeat the procedure.
6. After clicking “OK”, the shortcut icon in the property window will be replaced by the newly selected icon. Click “OK” to complete the icon change.

How to Use Mac OS Icon

1. Click the icon you want to use and while it is still selected, select “View Information” from the “File” menu in the menu bar.
2. When “Get Info” has been selected, the information window will be displayed, so click the icon part inside the window. Then, while this is still selected, select “Copy” to copy the icon.
3. Next, select the file or folder to which you want to paste the copied icon. In the same way as when copying the icon, open the information window of the file or folder you are going to paste the icon to and while the icon is still selected, select “Paste” from the “Edit” menu to paste the icon onto it. The change is completed when the icon of your choice has replaced the icon that you selected in the information window.

How to Use Desktop (Windows)

1. In the entry page of the desktop wallpaper that you want to use as background, select the monitor size* that you are using and open the desktop wallpaper image.
   (*Monitor size can be checked by right-clicking the desktop, selecting “Properties”, opening “Settings” tab in that window and looking at the “Display Field”.)
2. Right click on the opened desktop wallpaper image and select “Set as wallpaper” or “Set as background” to set the wallpaper on the desktop.

How to Use Desktop (MacOSX)

1. In the entry page of the desktop wallpaper that you want to use as a desktop picture of your Mac, select the monitor size* that you are using and open the desktop wallpaper image.
   (*Monitor size can be checked by selecting “System Preferences” from the Apple Menu, and opening “Displays” from among the “Hardware” items. )
2. While pressing the Control Key, click on the opened desktop wallpaper image and select “Save image to desktop” and save the wallpaper image file. (Or you can save it directly on the desktop by dragging and dropping it.)
3. From the Apple Menu select “System Preferences” and from the “Personal” item open “Desktop and Screen Saver”.
4. Dragging the downloaded image file and dropping it onto the desktop preview screen in the “Desktop and Screen Saver” window will set the wallpaper on the desktop.

Photographic images used in the Project

The picture postcards and old photographs etc used in this project are scans or photographs taken of original prints owned by the Project.
More than 50 years have passed since the death of the creators of these images, or more than 50 years have passed since they were proclaimed as being under joint title, and under Japanese law the copyrights of the original creators have expired.
The Project holds the ownership rights to each image and on that basis owns the usage rights and usage consent rights. Reproduction, redistribution, modification, selling or similar act, either in entirety or in part, of these images used by the Project, without the consent of the Project, which is the owner, is forbidden by law.
Furthermore, these images contain an digital watermark with a tracking function, which endures after printing and which in addition continuously traces usage by a third party on the Internet.

Copyright

The copyright and ownership rights to all icons, desktops, images and other contents released by the Project are held by the Project. Any unauthorized reproduction, redistribution, modification, selling or other similar act, either in entirety or in part, of these images is forbidden by law.

Feedback

Feel free to contact and any feedback to the Project.