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ABOUT THIS BOOK

This book offers a vivid glimpse into the lifestyle of the Japanese in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and particularly into a burgeoning love of travel, through the predominant visual media of the time, woodblock prints. The prints featured here are not only classical ukiyo-e (literally ‘pictures of the floating world,” a term used to describe the hedonistic world of entertainment often depicted in these prints) from the late seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries, but also include examples of shin hanga, literally “new prints,” created in the early twentieth century, which offer a look at Japan that is somewhat closer to the present day.

As well as famous sights in the cities of Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka, and other scenic locations that are as popular with travelers today as they were in the past, such as Hakone, Nikko, and Nara, this book also depicts the cultural icons broadly identified with a traditional Japanese lifestyle. Sumo, kabuki, hot springs, blossom viewing, kimono, tea-drinking, and geisha all exerted the same fascination over travelers in the nineteenth century as they do today.

Because the nineteenth century heyday of woodblock print production in Japan coincided with the country’s Westernization, frequent themes to be found in this book are the Western fashions and modes of transport that suddenly appeared in Japan from the 1860s onwards. The advent of the railway in particular provided much inspiration for woodblock print artists of the day.

The bulk of the prints in this book are famous and popular images, for instance from the previously mentioned celebrated series by Hiroshige and Hokusai. A few of the prints are rather rare, such as Utagawa Kuniyoshi’s Fuji from Mimeguri (see page 115). Prints like this one were meant to be used as fans and therefore not many have survived. All prints in this book are of the original artworks, created at the time indicated in the captions. Some prints are cropped to emphasize details. When prints are cropped radically, the caption includes the word “detail” and a thumbnail of the uncropped print can be seen on page 166. Most of the prints are from the remarkable collections at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and the Honolulu Museum of Art; the rest are from the collections of the British Museum, National Diet Library, Library of Congress, Scripps College, Paulette and Jack Lantz, Scholten Japanese Art, THEARTOFJAPAN.COM, and le cabinet japonais / Kotobuki GmbH. I am grateful for the generosity of these institutions and individuals in granting permission to reproduce their prints in this book.

Festivals such as Girls’ Day still exert a cultural fascination. Ca. 1772–1775, Utagawa Toyoharu, The Third Month: The Doll Festival, Gathering Shellfish at Low Tide, from the series Day and Night Scenes of the Twelve Months.

Hakone, near Lake Akinosho, was one of two checkpoints along the Tokaido, Japan’s most frequented road. These checkpoints controlled the flow of weapons into Edo and the movement of feudal lords and their families out of Edo. Ca. 1832–1833, Utagawa Hiroshige, Hakone: Picture of the Lake, from the series The Fifty-three Stations along the Tokaido.

In 1720, the shogun Tokugawa Yoshimune ordered the planting of cherry trees in Asukayama for the enjoyment of the people. This area is now Asukayama Park in Tokyo’s Kita Ward. Ca. 1832–34, Utagawa Hiroshige, Cherry-blossom Viewing at Asukayama, from the series Famous Places in Edo.

On top of this mountain is a shrine dedicated to Akiba Gongen, a deity that controls fire. Ca. 1837, Utagawa Hiroshige. Mount Akiba in Totomi Province, from the series Famous Places of Our Country.

Today’s Shinagawa Station used to be Takanawa Station until 1924 when it was renamed. 1872, Ikkei, The Steam Train at Tokyo Takanawa.

This restaurant was known as a venue for literati and art gatherings. It provided a great view of the Sumida River from its second floor. Ca. 1838– 1840, Utagawa Hiroshige, Kawachiya at Yanagi Bridge in Ryogoku (detail), from the series Collection of Famous Restaurants in Edo.