『扶桑高貴鑑』|A Mirror of Japan’s Nobility: The Emperor Meiji, His Wife, and Prince Haru (Fūsō kōki kagami)

Yōshū (Hashimoto) Chikanobu

August 8th, 1887 · Triptych of woodblock prints; ink and color on paper · Asian Art

This portrait of the imperial family shows the emperor and empress flanking eight-year-old Prince Haru, the emperor’s only living son, who reigned as Emperor Yoshihito from 1912 until his son Hirohito took over from his ailing father in 1921. Family portraits like this one were a form of propaganda aimed at demonstrating the emperor’s cultural authority as a modern head of state. They also resonated with the government’s efforts to encourage Westernization. Although the painting of cranes, pine trees, and plum trees in the background and the dragon vase at center are traditional works featuring highly auspicious images of East Asian origin, the family’s clothing, hairstyles, books, and furnishings are conspicuously European.

Artist

Yōshū (Hashimoto) Chikanobu

Date

August 8th, 1887

Medium

Triptych of woodblock prints; ink and color on paper

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Gift of Lincoln Kirstein, 1959