The Visual Identity of Meiji Japan and its Overseas Presentation

What did Meiji era Japan look like? In this talk, I present my findings after analyzing over three-hundred original photographic illustrations shipped to the United States from Meiji Japan to identify their role in crafting an idealistic perception of Japan for American audiences. The first interactions between Japan, which had just emerged from late feudalism with the advent of the Meiji Restoration, and the nascently industrial United States shaped the course of both nations over the following century. Among these first introductions was the 10-volume book series Japan, as Described and Illustrated by the Japanese, which presented a (for the time) comprehensive text outlining the society, history, contemporary culture, and arts of Japan, supplemented by over three-hundred original photographic illustrations. Unlike other Western texts describing Meiji Japan, this work presents itself as an unadulterated collection of Japanese perspectives on their nation. Supporting this, dozens of contemporary Japanese artists and artisans, including Okakura Kakuzō, are credited as contributors to the work. Edited and published in Boston, with over 1250 prints, this text influenced the growing phenomenon of Japonisme in the United States. My research delves into the background of this text, and the mysterious origins of the photographic illustrations contained within. Through a contextual and semantic analysis of these photographs, I will present insights regarding the cultural backdrops of Japan and the United States, as well as the early-industrial age transformation of Japanese national identity.