In my most recent viewing of Hour of the Wolf, I noticed that the
metalwork in Cartagia's palace looks suspiciously like the "rising sun"
emblem of Japan. Is there a historical significance that my meager
knowledge of history in general and military history in particular is
preventing me from seeing, or did it just look cool? All I can come up
with is a parallel between Cartagia and a kami-kazi pilot.

I think it's just a general sense of empire style symbols,
nothing specific to Japan.

jms