Igirisu fune|English Ship
2nd month, 1862
Medium
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Dimensions
Image: 14 x 9 3/4 in. (35.6 x 24.8 cm)
Classification
Prints
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of William S. Lieberman, 2005
Accession Number
2007.49.210
Tags
Art Historical Context
Created in 1862 by Utagawa Yoshitora, *Igirisu fune* (English Ship) captures a moment of profound change in Japanese history. Produced as a woodblock print during the final years of the Edo period, this work belongs to the Yokohama-e genre, which emerged after Commodore Perry’s arrival in 1853 ended Japan’s long isolation. Yokohama prints like this one allowed curious urban audiences to glimpse the foreign vessels and people now anchoring in Japanese harbors. Yoshitora, a prolific ukiyo-e artist, employed the traditional techniques of ink and color on paper to depict Western ships with striki...
About the Artist
Utagawa Yoshitora · 1845–1880
Utagawa Yoshitora (歌川 芳虎), also known by his art names Ichimōsai, Mōsai, and Kinchōrō, was a prolific ukiyo-e artist born in Edo (modern Tokyo), where he trained under the renowned Utagawa Kuniyoshi, recognized as his oldest pupil. Little is known of his early life, which remains sparsely documented, but his earliest works include illustrations for the book *Story of Karasu Kanzaemon’s Loyalty* in...