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25. Hiroshige II Utagawa
(1826-69)
Picture of a Mercantile Establishment in Yokohama, 1861 / Illustration d'un commerce a Yokohama, 1861 Woodblock print
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26 Tokugawa Yoshinobu
(1837-1913)
Mount Fuji / Mont Fuji Hanging scroll, ink and colour on silk
In 1859 the small fishing village of Yokohama was opened to international trade. Within a few years it was a thriving trading settlement crowded with Japanese shops dealing in silk, tea, fish, vegetables and copper, as well as foreign banks, warehouses, waterfront dockyards and merchant houses. Japanese woodblock print artists were quick to depict the thriving port and the strange-looking Western traders. The print artists were intrigued with the foreigners' facial features, dress, food customs, language and furniture. Their print impressions of the exotic foreigners were popular with both the local Japanese and the traders. [25, 89-93] The various classes in Edo Japan regarded the Westerners with a range of emotions, from ambivalence, courtesy, curiosity and opportunism to outright hostility and attempts at assassination.
By the late Edo period, the outdated and stagnant political and social feudal structures were long overdue for a change. The ruling class was facing great financial difficulties caused by inflation, speculation and monopolies, and they were heavily
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