Yokohama-e, or Prints from Yokohama, as Images of the Westernizing World
Yokohama-e, or Prints from Yokohama, as Images of the Westernizing World

Author(s): Aleksandra Görlich
Subject(s): Studies of Literature, Other Language Literature, Philology
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: Japanese woodblock prints; Nagasaki-e; Yokohama-e; prints from Yokohama; prints from Nagasaki; illustrations of foreigners
Summary/Abstract: The year 1853, when Commodore Perry’s ‘black ships’ arrived in Uraga Harbor, was a time of great changes with respect to the relationship between Japan and the so-called Western world. It is safe to assume that Western countries were not expecting anything other than the establishment of typical trade relations and that ‘local’ culture and cuisine would have very little impact on the colonizing countries. However, Japanese culture and art turned out to be far more interesting and intriguing than anyone had anticipated. It proved to be extremely unique in the context of Asia and accessible enough for Western artists to become a part of their universal cultural heritage. Within the following twenty years, its impact on European and American art, fashion design as well as on various other aspects of culture was enormous. Westerners were purchasing, collecting, and even smuggling items out of Japan in order to display them in their foreign homes. This article presents examples of Japanese woodblock prints depicting Western people in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It focuses especially on the mixing of Japanese and foreign elements in these illustrations and on the way in which they were used. Based on these examples, it is demonstrated how external elements were incorporated into Japanese traditions, resulting in a unique artistic style.

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