Lecture by Professor Maxi at the Boston MFA
Introduction
- Venue: MFA Boston, larger audience than usual.
- Professor Maxi from Ammer College, usual class sizes 15-20.
- Emphasis on storytelling using historical images.
- Focus on early 19th-century Japanese print culture with a political and cultural context.
Objective
- Explain the print culture of early 19th century Japan.
- Contextualize the work of Hokusai within a 2.5-century history.
- Combination of political and cultural narratives.
Early Modern Japanese Print Culture
Painting by Kutska Shuno
- Seasonal scene in a merchant household: women and children airing books.
- Books were abundant by late 18th century, literacy widespread.
- Literacy among women in certain strata.
- Publishing as a commercial enterprise.
Tokugawa Japan's Political System
- Concept of 'Great Peace Under Heaven': Tokugawa legitimacy based on ending warfare.
- Comparison to European warfare periods (France, Britain, etc.).
- Tokugawa period: longest uninterrupted peace (~1600-1867).
Administrative Organization
- Divided into 68 provinces initially, later 260 autonomous domains (Han) under central Tokugawa rule (Baku).
- Daimyo System: Daimyo autonomy traded for loyalty to the Shogun.
- Spatial arrangement based on trustworthiness in relation to Edo, Osaka, and Kyoto.
Status System
- Population divided into four main groups: Warriors, Peasants, Artisans, and Merchants.
- Hierarchical order based on occupation (Samurai > Peasants > Artisans > Merchants).
- Public demonstration of status through clothing and lifestyle.
- Concept of a 'container society', strict maintenance of social divisions.
Urbanization and Cultural Consequences
Urbanization & Alternate Attendance System
- Castle towns and Edo's growth due to Daimyo and Samurai residency requirements.
- Alternate attendance system: Daimyo required to maintain houses in Edo and travel with retinues.
- Development of sophisticated highway networks (Nakasendo, Tokaido).
- Unintended consequence: flourishing of travel and cultural exchange.
Edo: Political and Cultural Hub
- Edo's demographic and spatial division (Warrior vs. Commoners' districts).
- Emergence of commoner culture and shift in consumer tastes and fashion.
'Toning' Culture of the Late 17th and Early 18th Century
- Cultural explosion: Kabuki theater, Haiku poetry, Puppet Theater, Pleasure Quarters, Ukio-e woodblock prints.
- Kabuki's evolution and its social dynamics.
- Pleasure quarters as spaces of elegant distraction and temporary status suspension.
Print Culture and National Identity Formation
Print Culture's Role
- Development of woodblock printing over movable type.
- Explosion of printed material; widespread literacy reaching 40% by early 19th century.
- Establishment of publishers and rental libraries.
- Diverse publications: useful information, guides, compendia of famous places (Meisho).
- Hokusai and Others: Creation of a shared visual and cultural vernacular through prints.
Technical and Scientific Influences
- Introduction of Western technology and scientific knowledge via Dutch learning (Rangaku).
- Anatomy text translation (Kaitai Shinsho) and its impact on Japanese medical terms.
- Advances in cartography (Ino Tadataka's map) and geographic understanding.
- Commodore Perry's arrival and subsequent woodblock prints depicting Western influence.
Conclusion and Reflection
- Tokugawa period's stable order facilitated cultural innovation and urban growth.
- Print culture played a significant role in developing a proto-national identity in Japan.
- Continued legacy of craft tradition despite modern transformations.
Q&A Highlights
- Japan's resource management and recycling culture during the period.
- Impact of Commodore Perry and internal dynamics on the fall of the Tokugawa shogunate.
- Comparisons and influences of commoner culture, especially in pleasure quarters.
- The enduring legacy of Japanese traditions and family heritage in modern Japan.
For further visual resources on Commodore Perry and Japanese woodblock prints, visit MIT's 'Visualizing Cultures' website.