歌川芳員画　「横浜異人屋敷之圖」|A Foreign Residence in Yokohama

Utagawa Yoshikazu

1861 · Triptych of woodblock prints (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper · Asian Art

This fanciful triptych depicts Westerners enjoying a banquet at a merchant’s private residence in the foreign settlement of Yokohama. The title refers to the residence as a yashiki, a term usually reserved for a wealthy samurai’s mansion. Yoshikazu’s rendering includes Yokohama Harbor in the background, while the interior shows a lavishly decorated home with more than a dozen men, women, and children, including a man playing a cello and another getting a shave. The house is decorated with Western accessories such as a chandelier, carpet, grand mirror, glass windows, and dining-room table laden with food and drink and people seated on chairs. The kitchen features a woodburning stove.

Artist

Utagawa Yoshikazu

Date

1861

Medium

Triptych of woodblock prints (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Bequest of William S. Lieberman, 2005