An American boy tugs the pigtail of a Chinese servant descending the stairs; a Japanese courtesan looks on.
Sadahide The Observer:
Party
The stripes of the flag in the upper-left corner identify this as an American mercantile firm, where a lively party takes place.
...the other man points right toward the dinner party in the L-shaped alcove.
One diner demonstrates Western eating utensils, food raised on the tines of a fork.
A geisha plays samisen...
Two men pivot between the scenes: one gazes toward the courtesan on the left...
...while an American plays a viol, incorrectly held and strummed with a samisen plectrum.
The number of bottles reflects the large role alcohol played in early Yokohama.
The red, white, and blue pattern of the courtesan’s kimono mirrors the American flag.
Prints are gifts of Ambassador William and Florence Leonhart, reproduced courtesy
of the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC.
“Yokohama Boomtown” Massachusetts Institute of Technology © 2008 Visualizing Cultures
A Project of Professors John W. Dower and Shigeru Miyagawa
Based on the catalogue of the 1990 exhibition at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery,
Smithsonian Institution, Yokohama: Prints from 19th-Century Japan,
by Ann Yonemura. © 1990 Smithsonian Institution
On viewing images from the historical record: click here.
Design and production by Ellen Sebring, Scott Shunk, and Andrew Burstein
