My Personal Album- Assignment for Thursday, March 2nd

I am an American tourist who are interested in gardening and flowers. I have been in Japan for two weeks and I have seen a lot of gardens and flowers here, which are really beautiful. The following five images are what I have chosen to take with me to my homeland.

1.

 Japanese people grow azaleas, too. They line roads with azaleas of different colors in parks. The Japanese woman in the image is wearing a yellow kimono, who is simply gorgeous among the colorful azaleas. It is such a delight to eyes.

2.

 Look, two Japanese women in kimono are arranging flowers in a tatami room. They are so tranquil and talented. The flower container is very archaic and quaint, which goes with the mat and the flowers. This is real art. Looking at them arranging flowers would make me feel calm and forget all about worries in life.

3.

 The garden in the image makes me want to settle in the house like that. The stone paths, cute flowers, clear water, elegant maple trees, and wooden gate, comprise a multi-layered dynamic world, much better, more beautiful and interesting than the American lawns which simply cover the earth with a green quilt.

4.

 Look at these chrysanthemums at the flower display. They come with different shapes and colors. I have never seen some many chrysanthemums in the United States. It is so oriental, which goes with the three women in kimono. Look at the women. They look so beautiful when appreciating the flowers. They are like angels or goddess of flowers, pure and innocent.

5.

 The sakura trees are blossoming, so beautiful. But I think if all the Japanese men in the image were substituted by young Japanese women in kimono, the image would look much better and more coordinate. Pink cherry blossoms are like innocent Japanese women. They are very mild, tranquil and beautiful.


A More "Academic" Analysis of the Album and Commentary
The album focuses on gardening and flowers, but it also includes people in many images. In fact, there is only one image which doesn't involve any person in it. The fictional traveler seems to have a fantasy or imagination on Japanese woman to be innocent, childlike, and mild. They are like objects, specifically flowers, only for men to look at. If they are old and wither like flowers, no one would like to look at them. Women in kimono in these images are part of the flowers. They signify virtue, innocence and beauty. Also, the fictional traveler has a fantasy of romanticizing everything in Japan.

Assignment for Tuesday, Feb. 28-"Globetrotters' Japan: People, Foreigners on the Tourist Circuit in Meiji Japan"

 1.  THREE takeaway points from the essay.  These should be points that you find to be of particular interest with regard to the representation of Japan in this context.  
1) Globetrotter photograph deliberately catered to Westerners. It reflected and reinforced Westerner’s fantasies and stereotypes of Japan, giving Japanese people in the images no opportunity to correct any misunderstandings a foreigner might have. It is far from the lived experience of actual Japanese.

2) Globetrotters were interested in buying images of Japanese places and people that best represent their experiences and meet their expectations.

3) Photographers constructed stereotypes with a sense of authenticity by using “costumes”. Japanese people in these images are no longer individuals with their own stories, but tools to display costumes.

4) Westerners have this fantasy on Japanese women. They imagine that Japanese must be childlike, submissive and mild.

2.  TWO images from the unit. Please write an analysis that encompasses both a visual analysis of the image and a content analysis that addresses the "politics of representation" as seen in the image.  (The "politics of representation" has to do with ways in which meaning is constructed/conveyed through visual media or language, utilizing the various things we have discussed thus far, including ideology, coding, and myth.)  

1. This is an image of two Japanese women in kimono appreciating peonies in a greenhouse. They are surrounded by colorful peonies, with one looking directly at the camera eye while the other looking elsewhere, mouth closed in a slightly awkward way, which suggests that she knows the camera eye is focusing on her and that she is probably from a well-to-do family. There are a group of men, young and old, in the background looking at the camera eye, too. But it gives the viewer the feeling that they are looking at the two women in the image. It seems that they are stunned by the elegance and beauty of the kimono women. The peonies signify beauty. The men in the background signify beauty evaluator. All of these comprise the myth of oriental beauty and elegance. The ideology here is that Westerners think that young Japanese women in kimono are as beautiful and innocent as flowers, to be appreciated and looked at by men.

 

2.  This is an image of a line of Japanese people growing rice sprouts in a rice field. Five of them are not looking at the camera while the other two looked directly at the camera, smiling and being curious. They are bare-footed and working very hard. It must be quite tiring while bending your body forward and growing rice sprouts at the same time, especially when they have pose for a long while because of the long exposure time of 19-century cameras. These constitute the myth of farm life. Westerners who want to purchase this image are apparently interested in the agriculture life of farmers. The code here is that Japanese farmers were doing their farm work in such a backward and tiring way at that time, instead of using advanced machines. The ideology is that Westerners may feel superior that they have more advanced ways to do farm work back in their own countries. 

Feb. 23, Globetrotters' Japan: Places, Foreigners on the Tourist Circuit in Meiji Japan.

1)    Globe-trotters who travelled to Meiji Japan can be classified as Globe-trotter communis, Globe-trotter scientificus, Globe-trotter elegans, Globe-trotter independens, Globe-trotter princeps, Globe-trotter desperatus, Globe-trotter dolosus, Globe-trotter locustus and so on. I found the vivid descriptions of these different Globe-trotters quite amusing, because they remind me of modern tourists. For Griffis, Chamberlain, and other Westerners, the term Globe-trotters can also refer to people who only travel shorter journeys, and it has the connotation of travelers’ attitude and the commercial nature of their journeys. Globetrotters only stay in one place for a short period of time, which indicates that they are very likely to have a limited understanding or engagement with its places, people, and culture.

2)    Guidebooks were quite popular because of the booming of the tourism industry in Meiji Japan. They included first-hand experiences and contacts from foreign specialists who lived in Japan for a long period of time. Photographs and souvenir albums with exotic symbolic designs and content also appealed to globetrotters because they evoke their adventure in this exotic land. The commercial industry has made their experience predictable and profitable. Customers can select and arrange the images in their albums, make personal narratives, which reflect their own stories.   

Image analysis

This is an image of a lotus pond with traditional Japanese architecture as its background (which looks like Tsurugaoka Hachimangu, which used to be a Buddhist Temple). A blossoming pink lotus flower and several buds in the middle of the image are  quite distinct from the green leaves and yellow architecture. With approximately 80% of green, 15% of yellow, and 5% of pink, it looks so beautiful aesthetically. Lotus usually signifies Buddhism, which coordinates with the architecture behind. It also connotes the myth of orientalism and exoticism. European and American people at that time did not usually see lotus and they were not familiar with Buddhist or traditional Japanese architecture. When they visited this place, maybe the weather was not good or they came in a wrong season so they were not able to see such a beautiful summer scene in person. Therefore, they would like to buy such a photograph to evoke their experience in this place or recreate their memory of this place. And for people who haven't been there, it is a good aesthetic image to appreciate.   

Feb. 21 Beato: People

1.  Write at least three things that you take away from the article.  These should be major, significant points that you found to be thought-provoking and/or helpful in analyzing and understanding Beato's photography.

1) Men are always the ones who look and women are always the ones that are looked at.

2) There are different layers of gaze in an image. For example, the photographer's gaze "is represented by the camera's eye and leaves its clear mark on the structure and content of the photograph" (Lutz and Collins 137). The magazine's gaze includes the editors' decisions and choice. The magazine reader are encouraged to imagine the ideological aspects of the image...

3) Whether the person in the image look into the camera's eye or not reveals power dynamics about the relationship between the viewer and the viewed.

2.  With reference to some of the concepts you acquired from the article, copy two photographs from Beato's album into a post on your personal blog and present your analysis.  You should give as detailed an analysis as possible, but put an emphasis on your analysis of the "gaze" as it relates to the article, including "the non-Western subject's gaze," but also including "the reader's gaze," as well as any other gazes that you find relevant.

 

This is an image of a Japanese officer’s wife. She could be the real Japanese officer’s wife as indicated in the caption, or she could only be a model dressed and posing as a Japanese officer’s wife. Anyway, from the Beato’s gaze, the woman in the image should tell the viewer what a Japanese married woman looks like. She sticks her right hand into the belt. It seems that she is trying to protect the white thing in her belt. In terms of viewers’ gaze, viewers are invited to take a close look at the image and dream in its ideological space with the help of the caption. In the caption, Beato talks about how ugly a married Japanese woman is, because he thinks that their staining teeth black and shaving eyebrows are far more barbarous than body piercing. Although we cannot see from the image that she has stained her teeth black or completely shaved her eyebrows, the viewers are invited by the photographer to imagine what that would look like. In terms of the woman’s gaze, she does not look directly at the camera, but looks elsewhere, which signifies her high social status, just as Lutz and Collins indicate that the more powerful social status the depicted person is in the image, the more likely he or she is looking elsewhere. She is not smiling, which indicates that she is not so approachable.

 

This is an image of a man feeling the impulse of a woman. The man signifies the “type” of Japanese doctors, while the woman who has a white band around her head signifies a patient. From the photographer’s gaze point of view, Beato planned to scatter all the doctor’s tool kits abound, trying to show the viewers that Japanese traditional doctors had very limited tools and equipment to diagnose or cure patients. In the middle of the image, a sword handle is revealed, indicating the doctor’s identity. Beato is trying to create the myth of traditional Japanese medical system. From the caption, we can see that Beato contempt traditional Japanese doctors and their ways of diagnosing and curing with herbal medicine. Again it indicates the West-centered ideology. In terms of the woman’s gaze in the image, she lowers her eyes and looks at her arm, completely avoiding any eye contact either with the doctor or anyone. She is not smiling, which signifies further that she is not feeling very well or she is satisfied with the doctor’s treatment. The doctor is not looking at anyone, either, which signifies that he is very focused on his job. 

Homework for Feb. 16th

1.  Give three important things (concepts, ideas, etc.)  that you take away from the essay.  These are things that should be helpful as you continue to think about the visual culture of Japan and what can be called "the politics of representation," which has to do how such things as myth and ideology and codes appear in images and their captions. 
        1) There are two categories of photos, namely scenic views and genre scenes. The former refers to images of natural environments while the latter refers to images of panoramic view of land or streets or different people.

        2) Picturesque is an aesthetic term that is associated with beautiful landscapes that remind people of nostalgic rural life style.

        3) Seeing images in terms of history can make contemporary viewers part of the images and participant of that history. But each viewer has their own interpretations of the images, even if they are provided with the same text-image pairings. It is hard to say whether they completely understand the culture reflected in the images or “just a deepened sense of the mystery and exoticism of Japan”.

2.  Upload the two images that you have chosen to your personal blog.  Give your analysis of the image, and your "critical analysis" of the captions.  Be on the lookout for any language or ideas in the concepts that may seem to represent myths, ideological prejudices, or coded language (sort of like the "dog whistles" of contemporary politics). 

This is an image of a panoramic view of Mount Fuji and its surrounding scenery. The mountain is not clear in the picture, because it seems to be far away from the photographer. It is towering above the surrounding land and veiled in fog, which shows its mysterious and majestic gracefulness as a divine mountain. With the Caption talking about pilgrims, viewers can easily associate the Mountain with divinity and religion. But according the caption, Lieutenant Robinson of the Indian Army measured that it was 14,177 feet above the level of the sea, but the recent measurement in 2002 by the Japan government was 12,388 feet.  Maybe the equipment and technology in the 19th century were not so accurate.               

This is an image of a view at Eiyama. There are several thatched cottages on the left and right sides of the image. In the middle of the image, a winding road lined with trees leads up to the hill in the distance. As the foreground, we see one side of the simple and rustic bridge. The image is made alive with two Japanese people, one sitting leisurely at the bank, the other holding a bloom (or a stick) doing some housework. All these things give viewers the impression of neatness. Simple, rustic and picturesque are the three words that can be well understood from the image. In the caption, this sense or myth of simplicity and neatness is extended to architecture and the furniture used by ordinary people and the rich, leading the views' curiosity to see into the walls and look at the inside of the cottages.

Assignment for Thursday, February 14

1.  Give at least three main points made by this reading. Think in terms not only of the specific content of this unit, but also about the broader questions of signification, visuality, representation, myth, ideology, codes, etc.  
    1) Japan was pressured by America to abandon its “closed country” policy and signed a seemingly modest Treaty of Kanagawa in 1854, which led to its gradual opening to other nations like the Netherlands, Russia, England, and France. The Harris Treaty brought advantages to Japan, because Japan could purchase new weapons and also avoided the same fate as China had in the opium war. The disadvantages are that the treaty system was unequal, especially in terms of tariff.

2) There were rebellions against the Bukufu government and foreigners because of disrupted domestic markets, increasing unemployment, disease, arrogant and rude behaviors of foreigners. The chaos led to “Meiji Restoration”, but the fear and resentment against foreigners were soon thrown off. They welcomed this change and were proud that they helped Japan to be Westernized.   

3) In the Boomtown Yokohama, Japanese woodblock printing artists used their imagination and Western periodicals as sources to make prints that depict harmonious scenes of international interactions in Yokohama. Japanese people were curious about exotic Western culture and life.

4) Foreigners in Yokohama also thought that Japanese people are friendly, enthusiastic and elegant.

5) Japanese woodblock printings at that period of time are more aesthetically beautiful than their Western photo counterparts. Japanese artists also learned a lot of painting perspectives from foreigners.

6) There is a contradiction between what many Japanese people (esp. the rebels) thought of foreigners (as Barbarians) and what Yokohama woodblock printings depicted.

2.  Give at least two questions for discussion from the reading.  They can have to do with interpretation, analysis, or personal responses (e.g., "What do you think?" type of question).  

 1) What are the values of the woodblock printings made at that period of time?

2) What do you think of the contradiction between what many Japanese people (esp. the rebels) thought of foreigners (as Barbarians) and what Yokohama woodblock printings depicted?

3.  Select one image from the Visual Narratives section and analyze it.  Upload it to your blog post.  Go beyond any description you find in the text as you analyze the image.  Think about what/who is being represented, how, and why.  Note that in the Visual Narratives there are often links (in a brownish color) to other images.   

Gokakoku no uchi: Amerikajin
Title: Among the Five Nations: Americans
Artist: Kunihisa
1861


This image depicts what the artist thought American men and women looked like during the l860's. Japanese people were curious about whether foreigners were barbarians like they had imagined and they also wanted to learn their language in order to communicate with them better.
I was attracted by the glossary of Japanese and English filling the upper part of this image. This glossary obviously displays the transliteration of English to the closest equivalent of Japanese pronunciation. I did the same thing when I first started to learn English and Japanese. It is not considered as a good way to learn a language, but it helps sometimes to remember pronunciations of some very long words. These Japanese words and title block signify Japan, while it still retain the traditional painting skills of Japanese woodblock printings: why the artist made the eyes of the characters so small.
I was also attracted by the pineapple hat that the woman is wearing in the image.
As to why someone might wish to purchase it, I think that depends on who the "someone" is. If this "someone" is a Japanese in the late nineteenth century, I guess he or she wanted to learn the English language and learn about the American culture: it is not common to see a woman on horseback in Japan at that time. If this "someone" is living in our times, he or she might want to see how Japanese in the late nineteenth century depicted Americans so that they can learn more about the history and culture of that period of time. Also, I think the connotation of that pineapple hat is friendship, because pineapple is seen as a traditional American symbol of hospitality. It can also be seen as the hat of the Statue of Liberty which the artist might have seen in an American coin.

Gaikoku jinbutsu:Dontoku no zu
Title: Picture of People of the Five Nations: A Sunday
Artist: Yoshitora 
1861:12

I chose this image because I think this is a really live and dynamic party scene that depicts a harmonious world that we all wish to see. We are striving for the ideal peace between people from different cultural backgrounds, and we can see it all in just one image. In this image, the geisha on the right side is wearing a kimono that has patterns and colors similar to the American flag; the American woman playing an instrument of the violin family in a similar way as the other geisha is playing samisen-- maybe she is learning from the geisha and wants to explore a new way to play her own instrument. In the background, a dinner guest is teaching others how to use Western dining utensils. The naughty boy who is pulling the Chinese man's queue shows the liveliness of children. All these make up a really harmonious and dynamic scene, showing us that it is possible and wonderful to integrate all different cultures and people together without any conflicts.

Assignment for Tuesday, February 7

    This is an image of a color woodblock print by the ukiyo-e artist Utagawa KUNIYOSHI about a character Chen Da (Chokanko Chintatsu) from the popularized series “One Hundred and Eight Heroes of the Water Margin”. It was originally the left sheet of a first state triptych (oban triptych), together with Kyumonryô Shishin and Hakkwaja Yôshun and Jinkigunshi Shubu. The image I have posted here is actually a later edition of this left sheet because it has the seal of the publisher Iba-ya Sensaburô on the lower portion of the print. In 1827, Kuniyoshi was asked to produce a series of woodblock prints illustrating the 108 heroes of The Water Margin. The 14th-century novel The Water Margin, which is known as Suikoden in Japanese, is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. It is this ukiyo-e series called “One Hundred and Eight Heroes of the Water Margin” or “Tsūzoku Suikoden gōketsu ippyakuhachijūnin no hitori” that made Utagawa Kuniyoshi famous and increased the popularity of the tales of Water Margin heroes.

     Pubic taste in ukiyo-e at Kuniyoshi’s time gradually shifted from the peaceful views of a scenic Japan to the fierce and fantastical one. Kuniyoshi embraced this change and used his imagination to depict fierce warriors and heroes so popularly that people asked him to design tattoos.

    In this print, Chintatsu is in full armor and holding a spear. He is falling from the black horse. His face seems quite fierce and monster-like. The facial expression and the pose invoke an effective sense of exciting and dynamic action intensity. He used incredibly rich colors and textile patterns. I was simply amazed by various layers of colors and the curve of the horse tail hair. Popped eyes, exposed teeth, and even the hairs on the hero’s hands can be seen quite clearly, indicating the hero’s fierceness. The shadows on the background trees are also very vivid, which is rarely seen in the prints by other ukiyo-e artists in the paper room we went into in Berman Museum.

Assignment for Thursday, February 2

Harunobu, "Morning Haze at Asakusa" (c.1769)



This is an image of Morning Haze at Asakusa, from the set "Eight Sophisticated Views of Edo". 
Harunobu has depicted a thin and graceful beauty in the center of the print. In this print the girl is coyly flirting with a young samurai. She is elegantly dressed, though her clothes don't have very bright colors or attracting patterns. Some ginko leaves are in the foreground, so we as viewers can more easily identify Ofuji, who was known as the “ginko girl.” On the right side of the print the young samurai wearing a black cloak is leaning backward to look at her. Both the girl and the samurai have tiny hands, and both of them hide one of their hands. In the background, Ofuji is posed against a graceful willow tree, bringing out the best in each other and signifying her youth and pliability as well. Some critics say that this refers to the "willow world", "the world of the pleasure district to which she belonged".  Looking at the pattern of their clothes, you will notice that the texture of the their clothes seem to be different and resemble real brocades. In fact, Harunobu was and innovator who produced full-color prints, (nishiki-e, brocade prints). I like the background with poems and calligraphy, which gives the whole print a poetic sense and elegance.