Japan Art and Yoshikazu: Foreigners enter in pre-Meiji
Lee Jay Walker
Modern Tokyo Times
![](http://moderntokyotimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/yoshikazu-03.jpg)
The Japanese artist Utagawa Yoshikazu is especially famous for highlighting early foreigners entering Japan during the dying days of the Edo Period. Accordingly, Yoshikazu’s pre-Meiji Period (1868-1912) art provides a glimpse into the changing nature of society concerning the foreign angle.
![](http://moderntokyotimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/yoshikazu-06.jpg)
Yoshikazu was famous for his Yokohama-e prints highlighting the important treaty port of Yokohama. However, he also produced landscapes and historical Japanese themes.
![](http://moderntokyotimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/yoshikazu-05.jpg)
The Portland Art Museum says, “Yoshikazu was one of some thirty artists who produced hundreds of designs during the years immediately following the establishment of Yokohama as a treaty port in 1859. The prints publicized the appearance of foreigners on Japanese soil and provided the public with insights into their customs.”
![](http://moderntokyotimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/yoshikazu-02.jpg)
He studied under the acclaimed Utagawa Kuniyoshi. All the images connected to Yokohama-e were completed in the early 1860s.
![](http://moderntokyotimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/mtt.png)
Modern Tokyo News is part of the Modern Tokyo Times group
http://moderntokyotimes.com Modern Tokyo Times – International News and Japan News
http://sawakoart.com – Sawako Utsumi’s website and Modern Tokyo Times artist
https://moderntokyonews.com Modern Tokyo News – Tokyo News and International News
PLEASE JOIN ON TWITTER
https://twitter.com/MTT_News Modern Tokyo Times
PLEASE JOIN ON FACEBOOK