【Quiz: Seven Differences】May.16.2026
The picture on the left is the original. The picture on the right has seven differences compared to the original on the left. Find all the differences. I’m sure you can do it! Give it a try!
Just a few decades earlier, many men in public life had worn samurai hairstyles and served the shogunate or local domains. In this print, however, they appear in Western-style clothing and hairstyles, gathered in a modern parliamentary chamber.
It represents an early moment in Japan’s move toward constitutional government and parliamentary politics. Voting rights were still very limited at the time, so it was not democracy in the modern sense, but it was an important first step.
Turning such a serious historical image into a puzzle may feel a little playful, but it can also be a fun way to introduce people to Japan’s dramatic transformation during the Meiji era.
【Answers】
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【explanation】
- First, the title’s characters are different. The characters for the House of Representatives have been replaced with those for the House of Councillors. However, the House of Councillors did not yet exist at that time. The kanji characters might have been difficult to spot.
- The man in the second-floor seats observing the Diet session is facing away from the camera.
- The shape of the lamp hanging from near the second-floor seats on the left is different. Doesn’t it look like a flower blooming, with its slightly flared hem?
- The shape of the cloth-like object draped over the people in the first-floor seats is different. It looks almost like a map of the Japanese archipelago.
- Now, let’s look at the members of the Diet. On the left side of the screen, the second man from the front row is wearing an Elizabethan collar. It suits him, but I don’t think this kind of attire was common in the Japanese Diet at that time.
- In the lower center of the screen, the man closest to the camera is holding a cell phone. Cell phones are not allowed during Diet sessions. Of course, cell phones didn’t exist at that time.
- Near the right side of the screen, the male member of parliament has a modern, spiky hairstyle. It suits him very well, though…
So, did you all enjoy it? Please try again!