Amerika Karuhorunia Ko shuppan no zu|Sailing from a California Port

Art Historical Context

Step aboard the bustling harbor of 19th-century California in Utagawa (Gountei) Sadahide's captivating triptych *Amerika Karuhorunia shuppan no zu (Sailing from a California)*, created in 1862. This woodblock print, rendered in vivid ink and color on paper unfolds a panoramic scene of towering ships, lively crowds of men and women, and the excitement of maritime departure. Sadahide, a master of thetagawa school renowned for ukiyo-e ("pictures of the floating world"), skillfully captures the energy of a foreign port, blending Japanese precision with exotic Western elements. Produced during Japan's late Edo period (1615–1868), just after Commodore Perry's "Black Ships" forced the nation open to trade in 1853–54, the print reflects growing Japanese curiosity about America. Sadahide specialized in *Yokohama-e*—images of Yokohama's international quarter and distant lands—offering viewers a thrilling glimpse of California's Gold Rush-era vibrancy and trans-Pacific voyages, at a time when such travel was rare and wondrous for most Japanese. The triptych format, measuring nearly 29 inches wide, allows for an immersive, cinematic composition typical of ukiyo-e's innovative printing techniques: multiple woodblocks layered for rich colors and fine details. A gift to the Metropolitan Museum of Art from Lincoln Kirstein in 1959, this work bridges cultures, highlighting art's power to document Japan's pivotal encounter with the global stage.

About the Artist

Utagawa (Gountei) Sadahide · 1807–1873

Utagawa Sadahide was born Hashimoto Kenjirō in 1807 in Fusa Province, in the area of modern Chiba Prefecture, Japan. In the 1820s he entered the studio of the enormously prolific and influential master Utagawa Kunisada, becoming one of Kunisada's most prominent pupils and adopting the studio name Sadahide along with the Utagawa school's celebrated lineage. By 1828 his name appeared on a monument l...