The Japan Society Review 48
Book, Stage, Movie, Arts and Events Review

Issue 48 Volume 8 Number 6 (December 2013)

Two universities reach a milestone
Sean Curtin on fifty years of looking East
A different Dazai
Chris Corker uncovers another side of the writer

While preparing our final issue of 2013, it was with deep
sadness that we learnt of the passing of Sir John Whitehead,
distinguished former British Ambassador to Japan (1986 to
1992) and much respected former chairman of the Japan
Society (2000 to 2006). Thanks to Sir John’s encouragement
and kind support, this publication was launched in January
2006. We dedicate this issue to his memory.
In issue 48 we focus on significant Japan-UK anniversaries,
during 2013 there were several. The two most prominent ones
were the 150th anniversary of the first five Japanese university
students to come to the UK, the so-called Choshu Five, andthe 400th anniversary of the first official contacts between
Japan and Britain, known as Japan400. We have covered bothof these in earlier issues and, as the year draws to a close, wemark two other important anniversaries for UK-Japan relations
with both Leeds and Sheffield Universities celebrating 50 yearsof East Asian Studies. In 1963, the University of Sheffield set
up the forerunner of the School of East Asian Studies (SEAS)
under its renowned founding Professor Geoffrey Bownas. SEAS

rapidly established itself as a global centre of excellence for the
study of contemporary Japan. At the same time, the frontier
explorer Owen Lattimore became the founding professor ofwhat would become the department of East Asian Studies (EAS)
at Leeds University. Initially EAS focused on Chinese studies
before expanding to include Japanese and Mongolian. Overthe past five decades, these two institutions have produced
thousands of graduates, many of whom have gone on towork in Japan-related fields, greatly strengthening bilateralties. The two university departments currently form the White
Rose East Asia Centre, a joint collaboration, part of which is the
National Institute of Japanese Studies (NIJS). Other articles inthis issue include a fascinating review of Dazai Osamu’s Blue
Bamboo and an interesting interview with actress Haruka Abe.
Sir Hugh Cortazzi also examines a new book on Japonisme inlate nineteenth century Europe.
Sean Curtin, December 2013

Contents
1) Celebrating 50 years of Japanese Studies at the University of Sheffield2) 50th Anniversary of East Asian Studies at Leeds University
3) Blue Bamboo
4) Haruka Abe – Interview with an Actress5) Japonisme and the Rise of the Modern Art Movement.....................................................

.........................................................­........................................................................................................................................
EditorSean Curtin
Managing Editor
Jack Cooke
Reviewers
Chris Corker, Sean Curtin and Mike Sullivan
Special Reviewer
Sir Hugh Cortazzi
New reviewswww.japansociety.org.uk/resources/the-japan-society-review

Celebrating 50 years ofJapanese Studies at the
University of Sheffield
Daiwa Anglo-JapaneseFoundation, Daiwa House,
London, Thursday 3 October 2013
Review by Sean Curtin
In 1963, the University of Sheffield
was tasked with setting up theCentre for Japanese Studies to advance the study of modern
Japan. Under the guidance of its distinguished founding
Professor Geoffrey Bownas, it soon established itself asa centre of excellence. By pioneering the combinationof practical language skills with social sciences andemphasizing the importance of linguistic and cultural skills
in an economic context, Professor Bownas turned the school
into a powerhouse for research and study on contemporary
Japan. He was also able to expand the curriculum to include
other East Asian languages and help introduce Japanese
as a dual degree subject. By the 1970s Sheffield boasted
the largest Japanese Studies department in the UK and by
the time Geoffrey retired in 1980, the School of East AsianStudies (SEAS) was recognized worldwide as a leading
research institute. Five decades later, SEAS remains a global
leader, being one of the largest and most distinguisheddepartments of its kind in Britain.
To celebrate half a century of achievement, former staff andstudents were invited to two special golden jubilee events
hosted in collaboration with the Daiwa Anglo-JapaneseFoundation at Daiwa House in London on Thursday 3
October 2013.

Glenn Hook, Professor of Japanese Politics and International
Relations at SEAS and Director of the National Institute ofJapanese Studies
The feature event was a highly stimulating and well-attended
roundtable-type discussion entitled ‘Why JapaneseStudies? Past, present and future.’ It sparked a very lively
debate amongst both the panel and audience, generating
a thought-provoking session. The panel was made up of
2

five Sheffield-related figures – one for each decade – who
between them spanned the period from the founding years
to the present. It was chaired by departmental stalwart andrenowned scholar Glenn Hook who is Professor of Japanese
Politics and International Relations at SEAS. Glenn also
serves as the Director of the National Institute of JapaneseStudies, which is part of the White Rose East Asia Centre, acollaboration with Leeds University, which is also marking
its fiftieth anniversary in 2013.
The distinguished panel also included one of thedepartment’s most loyal and long-serving lieutenants,
Graham Healey. Just a few years after it was established,
Graham joined the then Centre for Japanese Studies as a
research student back in 1966, before at least one of his
fellow panel members was born. Before coming to Sheffield,
he read Chinese at Oxford then studied Japanese language
and literature at Waseda University in 1964. Graham became
an actual member of staff in 1967, teaching Japanese
language, modern history and politics. To the subsequentcohorts of students over the next four decades, he becamea very familiar and friendly face, and like Professor Hook
greatly contributed to the development and expansion of
SEAS. For example, Graham with Dr. Judith Cherry, anotherlong-serving SEAS staff member, established KoreanStudies in 1980. In 1995 together with the energetic andaffable Alison Churchill, he also set up the highly successful
SEAS Distance Learning Programme. Other members of thepanel were Hugo Dobson, Professor of Japan’s International
Relations at SEAS, Dr Mark Pendleton, Lecturer in JapaneseStudies and Sir David Warren, British Ambassador to Japan
from 2008 to 2012, Chairman of the Japan Society andcurrently a Visiting Professor at Sheffield.
The Famous Five: Hugo Dobson, Sir David Warren, Glenn
Hook, Graham Healey and Mark Pendleton

The second and equally lively part of the celebrations
was an extremely well-attended grand reception which
united past and present staff and students. The normallyspacious Daiwa House was packed to capacity which wasperhaps not surprising when one considers the hundredsof graduates SEAS has produced over the past half century.
It was a brilliant evening, offering a fantastic opportunity forfriends and colleagues to catch up, reminisce and reflect on
the considerable achievements of the past 50 years. Many
thanks to Jason James and the very welcoming Daiwa
Anglo-Japanese Foundation team for offering the venue
for a truly memorable 50th Anniversary event.

Issue 48 Volume 8 Number 6 (December 2013)

50th Anniversary of
East Asian Studies
at Leeds University
Review by Sean Curtin
In the autumn of 1963 thefledgling
DepartmentofChineseStudiesat
Leeds
University
opened its doors andtook in its first batch of
students under founding
professor
andgreat
frontier explorer Owen
Lattimore. September 2013 marked fifty years during
which time the department has produced over 2000
graduates and morphed into the East Asian Studies(EAS) Department, expanding to include the studyof Japanese and Mongolian. Today it also offers Thai,
South East Asian and Asia-Pacific Studies.
To properly celebrate its Golden Jubilee, thedepartment set up a series of lectures, talks andactivities. The crowning event being a huge
Anniversary Reception of former students and staff
held on Friday 25 October in the university’s spacious
Parkinson Court. The regal venue brought together
five amazing decades of the department’s rich anddiverse history in a singular unforgettable event. Staff
and students from the founding and subsequent
decades seamlessly intermingled with current
undergraduates and staff along with representatives
from the Japanese, Chinese, Mongolian and otherembassies as well as many VIPs and distinguishedguests.
There were a series of speeches anchored by
the energetic Professor Caroline Rose, current
departmental head and driving force behind thecelebrations. The University’s Vice Chancellor, Sir Alan
Langlands, launched the proceedings and introduced
department legend Professor Don Rimmington, oneof the original 1960s members of staff and a much
respected former head of department. He gave afascinating overview of the last fifty years, outlining thevarious challenges and highlights of the department’s
dramatic history and many achievements. For somein the audience, including myself, listening to Don
once more at the lectern briefly transported us backin time to our undergraduate days in the 1980s or
1970s, and for a few listeners even further back.
Next up was Don’s dynamic successor at the helm,
the renowned scholar Professor Delia Davin. She
entertained the crowd with several colourful stories
of life as a student at Leeds in the 1960s. These twomuch-loved former heads encompassed over four
decades of the department’s history with Don’s
career dating from its inception and Delia’s spanning
up to her retirement in 2004.
Issue 48 Volume 8 Number 6 (December 2013)

Former EAS department heads Professor Don
Rimmington and Professor Delia Davin with graduates
and their children
Moving away from former members of staffs, themicrophone was handed to Leeds graduate Andrew
Seaton, a former British Consul-General to Hong Kong
& Macao and veteran diplomat. Professor Rose, Directorof East Asian Studies, then rounded off the speeches,reflecting on her own two decade-long association
with the department. The speakers on the stage
only represented a minute fraction of the illustrious
gathering of past East Asian Studies personas at thereception, which included other departmental icons
like Professor Brian Hook, another long-serving original
1960s member of staff and colleague of founding
father and explorer Owen Lattimore.

Professor Brian Hook, one of the 1960s team, withformer students
The Anniversary Reception amazingly managed tomomentarily capture the multifaceted strands of five
decades of East Asian Studies at Leeds. It was also
an incredibly enjoyable evening and a fitting way tomark fifty years of outstanding achievement.
Many former students, some of whom had met
their partners at Leeds, brought their children to the3department on Saturday for the open day where
graduate offspring got a chance to roam the spacious
corridors and do a range of activities – and perhaps
also demonstrate that it may not just be salmon who
need to return to their spawning ground. It was apleasant experience for many former class mates tomeet up and let their children all enjoy a fun-packed
day with current EAS staff and students.
One especially popular attraction was the displayof class graduation photos from the 1960s to thepresent day which brightly decorated the walls of
the department. These allowed children to glimpse
youthful-looking versions of their parents in period
fashions, while graduates could marvel at how
young their former professors once looked. In the
nearby Parkinson Court enthusiastic undergraduates
performed Beijing Opera, Thai dances and Japanese
pop songs. There was also a range of talks on Chinese
culture, Owen Lattimore and department history
plus some outstanding exhibitions. For the moreenergetically inclined a team of current EAS students
raced around a brave Alumni team in a 7-a-side
East Asian Studies football match. All in all, it wasan absolute brilliant weekend which successfully
incorporated every strand of the five decade-long
intricate EAS tapestry. Professor Caroline Rose andher fantastic team deserve our upmost thanks fororganizing such an unforgettable and exhilarating
event.

Blue Bamboo
by Dazai Osamu
translated by Ralph McCarthy
Kurodahan Press, 2012
220 Pages
ISBN: 490207558X
Review by Chris Corker
This collection of shortstories, released recently
through the still relatively
young Kurodhahan Press,
can be seen as a quaintbut pleasant divergencefrom the narrative and themes that fans of Dazai
will be familiar with. While readers of the previously
released Crackling Mountain and Other Stories may
find something familiar here (as with Crackling
Mountain there is another retelling of a story by Ihara
Saikaku), others will no doubt be pleasantly surprisedby the whimsical tone and light-hearted humour ofthe stories contained.
First, a note on the presentation. The cover is pleasantly
subtle – and of course very Japanese – and the mattefinish of the cover combined with the thickness of thepages are a nice change from the mass-produced,
glossy paperbacks that are so common nowadays. In
a market where effort only seems to be taken with
hardbacks, it’s nice to own a paperback that doesn’t
leave you feeling as though you have purchased
something that is best disposed of after reading,
before it falls apart of its own volition.
At the start of this collection is a foreword by thetranslator, Ralph McCarthy. Set in a familiar andeasy-to-read tone, this section is used to give a little
background to the stories, as well as explaining his
reasoning for including each. While not overly long, I
found this section answered most of the questions I
might have had after reading. It was also refreshingly
honest about some of the short-comings of certain
stories, despite his obvious fondness for others. The
translation itself is very clear and straightforward,
suffering from none of the awkward structure andbizarre phrasing that used to plague translated works.

Children of former students get to do a range ofactivities during open day

4

On Love and Beauty and Lanterns of Romance areboth stories that are centred on a particular family.
In a mirror of Dazai’s own childhood (it’s interesting
to note that the father figure in these stories is dead,while Dazai was never on good terms with his own
father), the family are rather well-to-do and their main
challenge in life seems to be their struggle with an everencroaching boredom. In order to combat this theygather to pool their imaginative resources and create
a story. Through this narrative, each of the characters’
personality traits, desires and fears are revealed as theyIssue 48 Volume 8 Number 6 (December 2013)

present themselves bare and vicariously throughtheir protagonist. I would agree with the translator
when he says that he would have liked to have seen
more of this household in further stories. It’s a shamethat they only get these two brief outings.
The next two stories, The Chrysanthemum Spirit
and The Samurai and the Mermaid, deal with man’s
pride, obstinacy and the Samurai notion of honour.
These themes are shown later in the book, but
nowhere are they as pronounced as they are here.
The Chrysanthemum Spirit, which takes the form ofa classic fairy tale, tells the story of a man who is so
proud of his skills that he refuses to be helped byanyone else, while The Samurai and the Mermaid
highlights the importance of honour to the Samurai.
When Konnai is accused of lying about his defeat ofa mermaid to his face, his need to prove his tale andclear his besmirched name consumes him. This story
is enjoyable as, despite its serious and finally morbid
tone, it retains the narrative drive of a fairy tale,always maintaining the importance of fantasy. This ishighlighted in the following speech by a supporter ofthe protagonist:‘To a true Samurai, trust is everything. He who will
not believe without seeing is a pitiful excuse for aman. Without trust, how can one know what is real
and what is not? Indeed, one may see and yet notbelieve – is this not the same as never seeing? Is noteverything, then, no more than an immaterial dream?’This line, rife with the Zen ideology that was utilisedby the Samurai in their Bushido code is concluded
with a phrase that the reader cannot help but see
with a little irony.
‘. . . thus ends this story affirming certain victory for
those with the power to believe.’
This line is brilliantly juxtaposed with the tone of thestory, creating an unnerving climax that feels less likea true ending and more like the naive, wishful thinking
of a child. Another inclusion that takes the form of aclassic story, Romanesque, uses a more conventional
approach to the telling of a fairy tale, but also ends
in peculiar introspection that purposely betrays theconventions that have preceded it.

Blue Bamboo – despite its fantastical themes – andAlt Heidelberg, feel very autobiographical in nature.
The first deals with a man who feels worthless nomatter how much he drives up the determination
to succeed, and is eventually tempted away from his
unpleasant life by an implausible fantasy. The second
is a good example of the classic nostalgic tale, where
the rose tint falls away on a return to a favourite placeof childhood. Both of these act as good insights into
Dazai’s personal feelings and bear some resemblance
to his better known works, such as No Longer Humanand The Setting Sun.
Issue 48 Volume 8 Number 6 (December 2013)

While it may be difficult to find an obvious common
theme among all of these stories, many of them
contain Dazai’s idiosyncrasies and give insights into
his own life. Some are undoubtedly weaker than theothers but they are still, each of them, enjoyable on
their own merits. There is nothing earth-shatteringly
insightful here, but there is plenty of reticent
philosophy and gentle adventure that can be enjoyedby all.

Haruka Abe – Interview
with an Actress
Interview by Mike Sullivan
Haruka Abe is originally from
Tokyo, after attending highschool in Tokyo she was about
to enter Aoyama University
when she made the decision
to move to London and attend
a drama school. She graduatedwith a 1st class Bachelor of Arts
degree and in a relatively shortnumber of years she has starred in award winning
short films, had recurring roles in a number of TV
programmes and will soon be on the big screen in 47
Ronin, which also stars Keanu Reeves, Koh Shibasaki,
Hiroyuki Sanada and Tadanobu Asano. In 2014 shewill appear in an ITV comedy drama called Edge ofHeaven alongside a number of other independentfeature movies. We were very lucky to have thechance to meet her and ask her a few questions
about her background and work.
Please tell us about your upcoming role in the movie
47 Ronin, and how it felt to be part of a big production
featuring so many Japanese actors/actresses as well
as Keanu Reeves
My character is a handmaiden who serves the princessof Ako, a fictional character played by Koh Shibasaki.
It’s a small role but I got to film in Budapest and in
London which was fantastic. It was the most amazing
experience to work with some of the finest actors
in Japan. I got to work closely with Koh-san who is
one of the most incredible people I’ve ever met, andworking with Sanada-san was truly inspiring. He cares
so much about his art and about Japanese culture. It
was an honour to work with such a talented team.
Could you tell us about your background? For
example, when did you first know you wanted to
become an actress?
I was born in Tokyo, moved between New York, London
and Tokyo as a child with my family, and moved backto London on my own to go to a drama school. I
always wanted to become an actor or a painter (or a5mermaid), but the moment I knew for sure was when
I played Bilbo Baggins in my school production of The
Hobbit when I was nine.
What is the scariest part of an audition?
I always think that being an actor is like constantly
falling in love. Nine out of ten times, you fall in lovewith the character, you pour your heart out in theaudition, only to be told they don’t want you, andit breaks your heart. But on the rare occasion when
they turn around and say, ‘I pick you’, you get to havethe time of your life. I guess the scariest part of anaudition is the fact that no matter how much you
love your character you may not be able to play him
or her. But what’s the fun of being in love without alittle challenge, right?
What was the first TV or filmthat you ever did?
I think it was a BBC3 sitcom
called IDEAL. I played Miko, agiggly Japanese girl who is a
guitarist in a hard-core rockband. I had to air-guitar and go
crazy in the audition. It was justfor one episode initially but itturned into a semi-regular role
appearing in all 5 series. The
cast and crew were all fantastic
to work with and it was thebest ‘first job’ I could have
hoped for.

good five minutes. In my defence, the teacher didn’t
say my name when she was calling out for the castmembers who were meant to be in the beginning of
the second act. ‘You’re Bilbo! You’re in EVERY scene!’said the teacher upon finding me munching on
biscuits and watching TV in the classroom.
It seems like you enjoy taking on challenging roles,
for the short movies Precision and Pulling Away
everything had to be completed within 40 and 100
hours respectively, how difficult was that?
I do enjoy a good challenge! We also wrote, shot andedited Choose within 48 hours (well, the team did).
I love just jumping into the scene and being in the‘moment’. With guerrilla style shoots you don’t havethe luxury of being in a controlled environment anddoing take after take, andyou have to really focus, becreative and get the shots inthe can, which is challenging
but fun. Long hours doesn’t
bother me at all, time flies
when you’re having fun.
Pulling Away addressed thesubject of Japanese people
who refuse to leave their
bedroom or house, which
for many people it is hardto understand. How hard, oreasy, was it to identify withthis kind of character?

Do you prefer acting for film orTV?
I love both! TV is very fast paced
and you really need to be on
top of everything. You could
be juggling many episodes at
a time and really need to know
where your character is – atwhich point in which script.
With films you generally get
more time to get to know yourscript, and rehearse etc. For me it’s all down to thescript and the character I get to play, whether it’s TVor film. I love getting to know the cast and crew, so
the more time on set the better!
What is the most embarrassing or unexpected thingthat has happened to you when filming a scene?
A pigeon flew into the back of my head once. I did
not see that one coming!
It’s not filming, but when I was performing the
aforementioned school play, The Hobbit, I forgot to
get back on stage after the break between the first
and the second act, and my poor class-mates wereon stage going, ‘Where’s Bilbo? Where’s Bilbo?’ for a
6

you allow yourself to.

I’m quite a shy person
so I can easily go on fordays without speaking toanybody and I have beenin that place where you are
so heartbroken that you feellike not caring anymore. So
yes, I could identify with thatstate of mind. I think it’s quite
easy to slip into that state oflethargy or vulnerability if

Stanley Pickle was an incredible stop motion movie,
how difficult was it to be filmed in this way?
Filming Stanley Pickle was challenging as pixilation isa very physically demanding process. It was all shoton a stills camera, and we had to move one inch ata time, sometimes holding a very difficult position
for quite a while. I used to dance and I also trainedin physical theatre which helped. Also, when thecharacter goes through a range of emotions, youhave to break it down accordingly, so that it flows
naturally when everything is put together. It wasquite a hypnotic experience as the world around you
goes by at normal speed while your world moves inslow motion.
Issue 48 Volume 8 Number 6 (December 2013)

Have you acted in anything in Japan? What do you
think are the differences between being an actress inJapan and in the UK?
I used to train in Gekidan Himawari, a children’s drama
school in Tokyo. So I have been in a few NHK dramas
playing small parts when I was little. I think there isa big difference between being an actress in Japanand in the UK, but I can go on and on about it andit might not be that interesting! The industries seemcompletely different, from training to audition process
to working hours.
What do you think is the biggest challenge to being a
Japanese actress in the UK?
There just aren’t enough opportunities that are open to
Japanese actors. Luckily I am seen for, and sometimes
cast in, non-Japanese/race specific roles but it is still
very hard. You really need to start making your own
work so that you’re not just sitting around waiting forthe right role to come knocking on your door.
After 47 Ronin what can we expect to see you in next?
I have a small recurring part in a new ITV comedy
drama called Edge of Heaven, which starts airing in
spring 2014. There are also a couple of independentfeature films coming out in 2014 too. Hopefully there
are more things I can share with everyone very soon.

Japonisme and theRise of the Modern Art
Movementby Frederik l. Schodt

The Availability and Reception of Japanese Art in Europe
during the Meiji Period.’ Hiroko Yokomizu describes
in another chapter ‘The Presentation and Receptionof Japanese Art in Europe during the Meiji Period’ andTayfun Belgin discusses ‘Viennese Japonisme: From the
Figured-Perspective to the Ornamental-Extensive Style.’
This reminds readers that while Japaonisme may haveoriginated in Paris and London Japanese art objects were
popular throughout Europe.
In the Meiji period art products constituted a significant
element in Japanese exports to western countries. The
Japanese government made various efforts to promote
such exports as one way of reducing Japan’s trade deficit
with the West.
The market in Japan for Japanese works of art shrank as
the social order was radically altered and the craze forwestern objects dominated society in Tokyo. Japaneseartists, however, were able to keep and develop their skills
by producing objects for the European and American
markets as well as for sale to the globe trotters, whocame in increasing numbers to Japanese shores andsought ever more souvenirs. The artists and craftsmen
quickly learnt what sort of items appealed to Victorian
taste. Much of what they produced went to help fill
the cluttered rooms of the newly rich European middle
classes.
Some of the items they produced were elaborate andhighly decorated and conformed more to what might
be termed Nikko Toshogu style rather than exquisite
Kyoto refinement, but there could be no doubt about
the fine workmanship and attention to detail which they
displayed in their products.
This bronze of mythological figures dating from1881 shows how much time and effort must haveThames and Hudson, 2013
240 Pages
ISBN: 978 0 500 239131
Review by Sir Hugh Cortazzi
This handsome and finely
illustrated
volumeisintroduced by Gregory Irvine of the Victoria and AlbertMuseum. Irvine heads his introduction with a quotationfrom a letter from Vincent van Gogh to his brother inwhich van Gogh wrote, ‘In a way all my work is foundedon Japanese art.’
Axel Kruge contributes a chapter on ‘Vincent van Goghand Japan’, John House writes about ‘Impressionism
and Japan’ and Kim Schiermeier discusses ‘Imitation or
Innovation? van Gogh’s Japonaiserie and Japanese Art of
the Meiji Period.’This book is, however, much more than another book on
Japonisme in late ninetenth century Europe. Gregory Irvine
describes the way in which Japanese art objects reached
the west in a chapter headed ‘From Namban to Meiji:
Issue 48 Volume 8 Number 6 (December 2013)7

been put into so many pieces of Japanese metalwork
designed for the European market:
Personally I prefer something in more restrained taste,such as this lacquer box made in 1910 and belonging toAfter two years abroad and visits to Spain and Portugal,eight members of the troupe returned to Japan. Nine
remained with Risley in the US and revisited Britain where
they again ran into competition from the Royal Tycoon
group led by Tannakker Buhicroson whose ‘Japanese
Village’ in Knightsbridge was the main theme in my book
Japan in Late Victorian London: The Japanese Village in
Knightsbridge and the Mikado, 1885 (SISJAC, Norwich,2009 – and reviewed in issue 23, November 2009). The
group gradually parted company. Risley returned to theUnited States and was eventually committed to a lunatic
asylum where he died in May 1874.
Schodt’s book is based on meticulous research and his
account of Risley’s life and of Japanese acrobats andentertainers in the US and Europe in the late 1860s will
fascinate readers interested in the spread of Japanese
popular culture abroad.

the Khalili collection (plate 27), which is a fine example oftraditional Japanese lacquer making skills:
In the chapters showing the influence of Japanese art
on impressionist painters, examples of paintings by such
famous artists as Manet, Degas, Monet, Whistler andvan Gogh are juxtaposed with Japanese wood block
prints to show how the impressionists adopted styles
and composition inspired by Japanese originals. Monet’s
bridge over the lily pond is for instance juxtaposed with a
Hiroshige print of the curved bridge at Kameido shrine in
Edo. The most famous example of imitation by a westernartist of a Japanese print is probably van Gogh’s copy ofa Hiroshige print:
This is a book, which will interest all who want to learn
about Japanese art exports in the nineteenth century,
and who wonder in what ways Japanese art, especiallywood block prints, influenced western artists in 19th
century Europe.
I have one complaint. Who on earth chose to have thisbook printed in such a pale script? The printing is solacking in black ink that it requires a major effort to readthe script even under a strong light.Tokugawa Akitake
who was representing his uncle, the last of the Tokugawa
Shoguns, at the exposition. Their acts included thebutterfly trick, top spinning, rope dancing, ladder actsand various other acrobatic feats. In London they ran intosome competition from another Japanese troupe known
as the Gensui troupe who reached London before them.
The Japanese attracted a lot of attention especially when
they wore Japanese clothing. Western languages andcustoms seemed strange to them and their belongings
were sometimes stolen or lost in fires. They and Risleywere occasionally involved in disputes which came tocourt. The members of the troupe did not bring theirwives and often visited prostitutes.
8

Issue 48 Volume 8 Number 6 (December 2013)