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.