Scroll in British Museum shows humorous side of Perry's 1854 visit to Japan
LONDON--The British Museum has acquired a
hand-painted scroll from the late Edo Period (1603-1867) portraying the
bewilderment Japanese and Americans faced in the clash of cultures that
led Japan to end more than two centuries of near-isolation.
The scroll is part of an exhibition titled "Mission of Commodore Perry to Japan, 1854."
The work, which is 15 meters long and attributed to the painter Hibata Osuke (1813-1870), depicts Matthew Perry and his crew landing in Yokohama in 1854 to conclude the Japan-U.S. Amity Treaty. It was Perry's second visit to Japan to force the Tokugawa Shogunate to open the country's ports to foreign trade.
That event paved the way for Japan to abandon feudal rule and modernize.
The portrayals include a large crowd of Japanese onlookers who came to the shore to view the squadron of paddle-steamer "Black Ships" as well as Perry, his staff and sailors, and a banquet thrown by Japanese representatives for the American visitors.
The scroll has humorous touches. In one scene, Americans are shown curiously sizing up the value of plates used at a banquet. In another, they appear stunned seeing a sumo wrestler up close and try to assess his strength.
The museum obtained it from a British art dealer for 60 million yen ($602,500).
Hibata lived in the domain of Matsushiro, which is now Nagano city. He was allowed to observe the landing closely and record the occasion.
Hibata is believed to have been a student of Utagawa Kuniyoshi, one of the last great masters of the ukiyo-e style of woodblock prints and painting.
Tim Clark, who heads the museum's Japanese section and is an ukiyo-e specialist, said the work has tremendous artistic value for its portrayal of Westerners in the mid-19th century based on the ukiyo-e style.
Similar portrayals of Perry's mission exist both in Japan and the United States. A work by Takagawa Bunsen, a painter who was from the same domain as Hibata, is also highly rated.
The scroll will be on show through Oct. 13 at the museum’s Mitsubishi Corp. Japanese Galleries.
The scroll is part of an exhibition titled "Mission of Commodore Perry to Japan, 1854."
The work, which is 15 meters long and attributed to the painter Hibata Osuke (1813-1870), depicts Matthew Perry and his crew landing in Yokohama in 1854 to conclude the Japan-U.S. Amity Treaty. It was Perry's second visit to Japan to force the Tokugawa Shogunate to open the country's ports to foreign trade.
That event paved the way for Japan to abandon feudal rule and modernize.
The portrayals include a large crowd of Japanese onlookers who came to the shore to view the squadron of paddle-steamer "Black Ships" as well as Perry, his staff and sailors, and a banquet thrown by Japanese representatives for the American visitors.
The scroll has humorous touches. In one scene, Americans are shown curiously sizing up the value of plates used at a banquet. In another, they appear stunned seeing a sumo wrestler up close and try to assess his strength.
The museum obtained it from a British art dealer for 60 million yen ($602,500).
Hibata lived in the domain of Matsushiro, which is now Nagano city. He was allowed to observe the landing closely and record the occasion.
Hibata is believed to have been a student of Utagawa Kuniyoshi, one of the last great masters of the ukiyo-e style of woodblock prints and painting.
Tim Clark, who heads the museum's Japanese section and is an ukiyo-e specialist, said the work has tremendous artistic value for its portrayal of Westerners in the mid-19th century based on the ukiyo-e style.
Similar portrayals of Perry's mission exist both in Japan and the United States. A work by Takagawa Bunsen, a painter who was from the same domain as Hibata, is also highly rated.
The scroll will be on show through Oct. 13 at the museum’s Mitsubishi Corp. Japanese Galleries.
A depiction of Japanese and U.S.
representatives, including Commodore Matthew Perry, at a mid-19th
century banquet (Provided by the British Museum)
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