Globetrotters' Japan: Places, Foreigners on the Tourist Circuit in Meiji Japan

GLOBETROTTERS

1. TWO takeaways from the article.

Seeing as travelling took an immense amount of time, it seems logical to think that those travelling are almost always wealthy enough to not only spend a large amount of money to pay for the trips but also miss work. That said, most people visiting Japan and touring it were wealthy westerners, likely steeped in western etiquette and stereotypically condescending, easily entertained by these 'simple' people and customs. Keeping in mind the audience being pandered to, it makes a lot of sense they would invest in Beato's photo albums and why Beato would include what he did in them.

These globetrotters who visited Japan often times constructed their souvenir photo albums according to their own tastes and experiences. That said, they could re-create stories and personalize their experience of Japan to share with others. In this way, many different views of Japan could be created from the stock photos, and so stories other than those initially intended could be told using a different arrangement of photos than what was originally taken. This could be for better or for worse as photos can be taken out of context completely and then tell their own original tale separate from the other photos in the initial series.


2. ONE image analysis, & why a foreigner may want to purchase the image.

I feel that this is an image many other people would choose because I definitely find it appealing to look at. It features almost everything: Japanese people in Japan, nature, spiritual aspects, art, and wildlife. This photo really drives home the connection between nature and the Japanese people living in harmony with it. However, while on the surface it just seems like a beautiful photograph, there are also some negative connotations for depicting the Japanese so "at one" with nature. Presenting animals in a public setting, especially a religious one that is supposed to be sacred, it seems like it promotes the idea that the Japanese are primitive, savage, or barbaric. Could you imagine a horse or pig in a place of worship--how would an image like this be received by a westerner?

Felice Beato's Japan: People

PEOPLE

1.  Write at least three things that you take away from the article.  These should be major, significant points that you found to be thought-provoking and/or helpful in analyzing and understanding Beato's photography.

Beato was unafraid of setting up the exact scene he wanted to create. From the battle scenes he was first famous for to catering to the tastes of foreigners in Japan, everything in the photo was posed in a strategic manner to evoke all kinds of feelings from disgust to quaint admiration. In this way, he could paint Japan as whatever picture he wanted: intriguing, primitive, and even savage or barbaric.

Alongside creating the entire scenes himself, he also worked with others to contrive unique captions for each photo. At a glance these captions would appear to be a wonderful way to learn about the photographs and what is going on, as well as learn about Japanese life and culture itself. However, because there are many errors and misconceptions within these captions, many times theses albums only served to widen the gap of misunderstanding that already existed as well as give birth to a multitude of stereotypes that still exist today. The captions typically contained the author's opinion, and could be downright derogatory, blatantly racist, and overall exude an air of ignorance that tended to hang around western society as a whole at this time in history.

An extensive amount of care and artistry went into the binding of the albums. The covers themselves were a work of art apart from the photographs they protected. I often wonder if the album covers were bland or cheap, would the photo albums be as popular? Many times people buying photos today (hahaha, people buying photos today, that's rich) end up getting just the prints of what they want and skip out on extras. That's also because they often run the buyer a lot more money to have a finished product. I wonder about the price ranges of Beato's albums--what sort of people had accessibility to these works? While investing in photos itself is a practice typically reserved for people who had extra money to play with, was there a way for people who were less fortunate to get their mitts on one or two photos to share with their family and friends?

2.  With reference to some of the concepts you acquired from the article, copy two photographs from Beato's album into a post on your personal blog and present your analysis.  You should give as detailed an analysis as possible, but put an emphasis on your analysis of the "gaze" as it relates to the article, including "the non-Western subject's gaze," but also including "the reader's gaze," as well as any other gazes that you find relevant.

I'd like to start off by analyzing this photo of "Girl Playing the Shamisen". The photo features a Japanese woman playing the shamisen while seated on what looks like a clothing trunk. The room she is in appears to be meticulously arranged, with shelves containing bowls in the back and a teapot on a tray next to her. The irony in the photo is that the room seems entirely too cluttered to be putting on a performance or even practicing. What's more is normally she would be seated on the floor while playing. It seems a little unnatural to me that she is seated in such a western way when the rest of the photo is trying so hard to be as Japanese as possible, at least in Beato's eyes. Finally, it doesn't even look like she is playing but tuning. The most cringe worthy aspect of this photo, however, was entirely the caption. Obviously written from a western perspective, the explanation of what was going on was entirely condescending and ignorant. It describes the shamisen as a "simple instrument" comparing it to a guitar. The worst comes with the critique of the music the player produces; the sound of the instrument is described as wild and harsh, and the voices of the Japanese people are said to be 'by no means pleasant to the ear'. The caption also comments the place of women in society as always learning music, but then turns around to talk down to the masters, as if to say, 'what a shame, these people work so hard and even still their music and culture is so primitive that even masters of the art sound awful and disgusting.'

Another gem I'd like to analyze is "Fencers". Ha. This is another prime example of the author of the caption not knowing what they're talking about and just writing whatever they see fit. While I am not familiar with kendo and all the rules, I am confident I can tell the difference between kendo and fencing. However, after reading the caption, it seems as if westerners have just assumed that kendo was their childlike attempt at something sophisticated like fencing. The caption also included bits about some payers losing their temper and resorting to grappling, giving off the same impression of believing the Japanese to be barbaric and in need of western control. The caption os synonymous to the other photo I discussed in that it does a wonderful job of perpetuating stereotypes about the Japanese being below westerners in some way, and that their attempts at art and production are quaint and primitive at best.

Felice Beato's Japan: Places

Four Chapters

1.  Give three important things (concepts, ideas, etc.)  that you take away from the essay.  These are things that should be helpful as you continue to think about the visual culture of Japan and what can be called "the politics of representation," which has to do with how such things as myth and ideology and codes appear in images and their captions. 

The essay mentions right off the bat that while the images Beato had taken were of Japan, they were conceptualized in a very western manner. Beato was highly influential and successful when it came to photography, and eventually came to develop his "Views of Japan" albums for sale. These albums contained captions next to each photo, including information on the history shown in the photo and cultural interpretation of whatever was going on. This must have served an extremely important purpose in educating the westerners who invested in the photos on Japanese life and customs in a very subtle way. They bought the images because they thought they were beautiful, but then also inadvertently came to learn about that beauty's origins and meaning.

Beato's photography brings attention to the scenic views in Japanese life--not only does it depict nature on its own, but it shows people existing within that same space going about their lives. Nature in these images is not untouched and free as it is often depicted in the west, but inhabited seamlessly. The beauty of Japan is depicted by its intimate relationship with the world around its inhabitants. It speaks volumes about the values of its people and how they choose to live their lives. The photographer paints Japan as the perfect beautiful and exotic place westerners want to see. By focusing on this, Beato has a poignant selling point in all his albums which is why he ends up being so successful.

The subjects of all the photos were places of interest for the westerners. This is an important point in that people already want to visit and know more about these places--they find them interesting and want to see them for themselves. The combination of the images capturing the everyday lives of the Japanese people alongside captions that explained everything clearly served to help assimilate westerners into the Japanese culture.

2.  Upload the two images that you have chosen to your personal blog.  Give your analysis of the image, and your "critical analysis" of the captions.  Be on the lookout for any language or ideas in the concepts that may seem to represent myths, ideological prejudices, or coded language (sort of like the "dog whistles" of contemporary politics).

14.) The caption for this photo begins by explaining who the statue represents and what they are attributed to. The various features of the statue, from its bald head to the stone trough before it is explained plainly. The method of prayer is also explained, letting readers know how to, if they ever visit the statue for themselves, properly go about interacting with it in a respectful way according to tradition. The importance of these captions is incredible--what seems like a simple interesting tidbit actually opens a window into Japanese culture and their way of life. Things like washing hands to purify ones self before the gods, bowing ones head out of respect are discussed; the photo albums represent a journey, and the captions tell you how to navigate it.

49.) This next photo describes less the Japanese way of life and more how life is built. Different from western style homes and structures, the caption explains the Japanese style of architecture was designed keeping the frequent earthquakes that occur in mind. The photo provides a lens into the basic standard in place for Buddhist temples all throughout Japan, going so far as to state that all the temples look essentially the same. 

Yokohama Boomtown - Depiction of Foreigners in Japan

Yokohama Boomtown

1.  Give at least three main points made by this reading.  Think in terms not only of the specific content of this unit, but also about the broader questions of signification, visuality, representation, myth, ideology, codes, etc.  

This reading points out the strategy used by Japan when dealing with the foreigners. Recognizing that they were not as developed, they formed treaties with the "five nations" knowing they would not be able to resist. Because treaties were made, interactions between the Japanese and westerners were less confrontational after the initial introduction of western influence to the country. There is a certain "going with the flow" atmosphere exuded by the Japanese, since they are essentially helpless in the situation and looking to cut their losses when dealing with the Japanese. 

While the Japanese were not as technologically advanced as the westerners coming to their country, they were still able to adequately prepare for the influx of trade and travelers, going so far as to create a new city as a platform to hos foreigners without disrupting the port town that was originally supposed to serve the same purpose. They used their culture and tradition as a selling point, benefiting greatly from exploiting the 'exotic' qualities of their everyday life to cater to the desires of the westerners.

Artwork representing these processes were often influenced by the artists' imaginations and interpretations. Many artists did not depict the city of Yokohama from firsthand experience but from popular western publications. They also include their feelings of potential regarding the relationship between westerners as something that can be positive--the art reflects a sense of excitement caused by the new influence of the west, and opening up to the world to receive new things and opportunities. Unlike depictions of Perry, the newer artwork of westerners showed less hostility and demonization, and more inquisitive and genuine interest for the incoming possibilities.

2.  Give at least two questions for discussion from the reading.  They can have to do with interpretation, analysis, or personal responses (e.g., "What do you think?" type of question).  

What does the way westerners inhabited Japan say about their presence in the country? (i.e. simply plugging their own culture into a Japanese setting, not bothering to assimilate into the culture and instead imposing their own)

Are there any depictions of westerners embracing Japanese culture? Besides imploring their own onto Japan, what did westerners take away from their experiences with Japanese life, tradition, and culture? Is this depicted at all?

3.  Select one image from the Visual Narratives section and analyze it.  Upload it to your blog post.  Go beyond any description you find in the text as you analyze the image.  Think about what/who is being represented, how, and why.  Note that in the Visual Narratives there are often links (in a brownish color) to other images.   

The image above is described as "the first American firm to reach Yokohama, Walsh & Company, who established their compound in 1859...a new multi-culturalism pervades their headquarters." In this photo, There are both men and women present from both American and Japanese looking backgrounds, based on their attire. The westerners appear to be completely at ease while the Japanese are depicted looking around, almost in awe. The setting itself is Japan and Japanese architecture, but clearly inhabited by Westerners. The people inside the house are shown seated around a high table on chairs, and appear to be wearing their shoes inside as well. While the house itself seems to be filled with western influence, there are plenty of scrolls on the walls featuring Japanese texts. The gardens appear to be very Americanized, and in the view out to the water, a few American ships can be seen. The scene evokes feelings of a melting pot, cultures mixing together and learning from each other. The westerners seem oblivious to their cultural insensitivity, while the Japanese marvel at this new and intriguing way of life. 

More ukiyo-e: a visit to the Berman

Utagawa Toyokuni - Actor Onoe Matsunosuke II

This Ukiyo-e is a depiction of kabuki actor Onoe Matsunosuke II. The man is rolling up his sleeves while glaring menacingly at the mice/rats. He's about to open a can of whoop ass. He has seriously had it with these vermin. His clothing billows around him as if his rage is producing a physical current around his body. The mice don't even seem to notice as they continue to provoke him by prancing around happily like the oblivious little shits they are. Perhaps they know and actually enjoy enraging this poor man. They think it's funny. Utagawa does a wonderful job of displaying the frustration of the actor while keeping with the tradition of kabuki since the picture captures the comedy in the theater as the mice dance around as if toying with him. I find it very interesting that the only color used was the soft reddish-pink of the Matsunosuke's clothing. One's focus is also immediately drawn to the mice at the bottom since they are almost completely filled in with black. The bold mice against the soft flowing fabric of his clothes provide a nice balance in the photo that also goes hand in hand with the darkness of his obi and hair. I was attracted to this photo by that very aspect--I found the simplicity very appealing, as it seemed to subtly combine the traditional black and white only prints with a tiny modern twist to brighten it up.

Unlike Kiyomasu Torii's "Goro Uprooting a Bamboo" ukiyo-e, which also depicted kabuki theater actor, Utagawa's work seems to take on a far more realistic approach to representing actors in action. The actor looks completely human, depicting the actor themselves as opposed to the character the actor was trying to portray, like Goro and his red skin and bulging muscles. While I found a lot of information about Kiyomasu's piece, I was unable to get any search results with this particular piece. Regardless, I was determined to do an analysis because the more I looked at this print the more I enjoyed it.

Ukiyo-e: "Goro Uprooting a Bamboo"

Kiyomasu Torii - "Goro Uprooting a Bamboo" (1697)

Some light research reveals that this woodblock print is a depiction of kabuki actor Ichikawa Danjuro, playing the character of Goro. This "Goro" is seen to be straining considerably as they pull from the ground a stalk of bamboo. The muscles in their legs and arms bulge as they yank on the stalk, digging their heels into the ground in the process. They appear to have thrown off the top half of their clothes to complete the task, while their long black hair is allowed to flow freely over their shoulders. The main colors shown are a simple combination of black, stark red against a muted yellow, and some warm grey shading in some places. Additionally, the entire image differs from those we viewed and discussed in class in that the style is far more exaggerated and bold as opposed to realistic depiction of daily life or people. This art seems to be more for entertainment than for the narcissism of a noble, as it is a depiction of an actor performing rather than a few normal people sitting down for a drink or going about their daily business. While it can be considered a part of real life, the exaggeration of the depicted actor to truly become a demonic looking ogre with large bulging muscles really shows how artistic the work is--this is not real life, but a taste of fantasy that is born from theater.