American commodore Matthew Perry had arrived in 1853 with a fleet of imposing, steam-powered warships, triggering an influx of foreign ideas, goods, and technologies to Japan. Yokohama, a small trading settlement, became the center of this new commercialism. Japanese printmakers documented these watershed events and promoted the image of a modern nation in ascent.
In the Mood for a Walk (Yuho ga shitaso), from the series Thirty-two Aspects of Women (Fuzoku sanjuniso), 1888
Tsukioka Yoshitoshi
Japanese Print Purchase Fund
One Person, Six Expressions (Hitori rokumenso), 1884
Kobayashi Kiyochika
Louise Lutz Endowment
Influenced by the introduction of photography and Western newspaper illustrations, printmakers explored new formats. Many works in this exhibition are triptychs—horizontal compositions spanning three panels—particularly well suited to depicting wide boulevards, lengthy steam trains, and large buildings. These new subjects and the broader format appealed to both domestic and international audiences.
Eight Modern Views of Famous Places in Tokyo of Great Japan (Dai Nippon Tokyo kaika meisho hakkei no zu), 1875
Utagawa Kunisada II (Kunimasa III, Toyokuni IV)
Mr. and Mrs. Hubert Fischer and Margaret Gentles funds
In 1868 Japan’s shogunate, the government that had once kept it largely isolated, collapsed. The emperor was restored, ushering in the Meiji period, which lasted until 1912. Under Emperor Meiji, Japan rapidly modernized, led by the mottoes of Bunmei Kaika (civilization and enlightenment) and Fukoku Kyōhei (enrich the country, strengthen the military). The prints in this gallery reflect Japan’s attempts to define itself between Eastern and Western influences and to become Asia’s modern empire.
The Dawn of Modernity: Japanese Prints, 1850–1900 is curated by Yuheng Deng, McMullan Arts Intern, Arts of Asia, and Janice Katz, Roger L. Weston Curator of Japanese Art, Arts of Asia.
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