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- forms, there still existed bitter disputes between those who desired only Western techniques and those who wanted to pre�serve the purity of Japanese art. By the end of the Meiji era the two sides were splitting into even more factions. Japanese artis�tic identity did survive, but it had to learn to coexist with exter�nal artistic ideals.
While the traditional arts of painting and religious sculpture were declining, the minor arts like ceramics, cloisonne and met�alwork were blossoming. Due to the exquisite workmanship, these forms were elevated from the level of craft to that of significant art form.
Emperor Meiji was an art-lover and a great patron of the arts. In 1890 a system of honourific appointments were given to outstanding and talented craftsmen for their services to the Imperial household. Those Imperial craftsmen were called shitsu Gigeiin and were retained on a salary. A select few of these men, like the metal worker Kano Natsuo and the lac- querer Shibata Zeshin, were employed by the imperial family for their own needs and when commissioning gifts for foreign dignitaries or royalty. These artifacts can be recognized by the stylized imperial chrysanthemum badge or mon found on their ornamentation.
Woodblock Prints
Woodblock prints ( ukiyo-e) have a long history in Japan. They were cheaply produced in great numbers as affordable art for the lower and middle classes. The main subject matter of these prints included the theatre, courtesans, landscapes and histori�cal events. The painter or sketcher was often given most of the credit for their production, but it was really a collaborative effort between blockcarvers, printers and publishers or distributors. The popularity of the ukiyo-e extended as far as Europe where they impacted the works of some impressionist and post- impressionist artists.
Following the withdrawal of Japan's isolationist policy in 1853, foreign traders began to settle in the port city of Yokohama. These foreigners and their strange Western contraptions became popular subjects for the print artists of the 1860s. They provided the first glimpses of the achievements of the technologically
advanced Western nations, and thus enhanced the Japanese understanding of the West. While many of these Yokohama prints are not Meiji Era, we have included a few in this exhibit as they play an important educational role in displaying the tre�mendous changes which were about to occur.
Woodblock printing of the Meiji period was one of the most popular methods of conveying the changes taking place in Japa�nese society. And perhaps it is through the prints that we are given the best impressions of the new civilization and how it was viewed by the Japanese people.
The prints were also transformed by Western contact. They were influenced by the appearance of a new type of paper which was less fine and absorbent than the early fibrous paper, as well as the introduction of aniline dyes from Europe which replaced the traditional vegetable colours. The dyes prompted experi�ments with new garish colour combinations including beet red and bold purple. Woodblock prints also suffered from new competition from photographs and lithographs being intro�duced into Meiji Japan. By the end of the era ukiyo-e was all but dead.
There is a vast number of Meiji prints in the Gallery's collec�tion which could be drawn upon for this section. However, we have chosen to select only those prints that reflect the changes taking place in Japanese society rather than those that deal with traditional subject matter. The subjects of those on display range from appearance and clothing to architecture and transporta�tion. Selected prints also cover historical events from the goal of "Civilization and Enlightenment" to the wars with China and Russia.
There are four artists of the Meiji era who are recognized as the most adept print artists. They are Shibata Zeshin (1807-1891), Kawanabe Gyosai (1831-1889), Taiso Yoshitoshi (1839-1892) and Kobayashi Kiyochika (1847-1915). In their prints, the first three artists exhibit a nostalgia for the rapidly disappearing way of life in Japan. While Kiyochika was clearly the only one focusing on the sociological changes brought about by the modernization of the culture.
During this period woodcuts were produced by the millions. They were purchased cheaply, for less than a penny, and often
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