Item Summary

Ephemeral newssheets dating to 1853-59, depicting foreigners.

Descriptive Information

Title
Kaikoku emaki.
Call Number
DS881.3 .K35 1853
Identifier
ark:/88435/dcmp48st46q
Publisher
Japan [approximately 1853-1859]
Language
Japanese
Date Created
1853-1859
Format
Book
Extent
1 scroll
Rights Statement
Copyright Not Evaluated
Notes
Six sheets mounted on a long thick-paper scroll (24 x 212 cm), painted silk on outside of front endpaper, modern wooden roller.
Title from manuscript label on outside of scroll.
I. Woodblock print. Title: Bankoku sankai tsuran bunzu [Information on the Entire World], after 1853 (243 x 318 mm.). The print has an approximative map of the world on which there are two large foreign ships. Japan is shown in the middle, between China and the United States. Blocks of text are filled with information on foreign cities and the distances between cities. Brief passages recount the first Commodore Perry expedition to Japan in July 1853. II. Woodblock print. Title: Gokaku on Boekiba [Trading Center for the Five Countries], dated 1859 (243 x 317 mm). This print mentions five countries: the United States, Russia, England, France, and Holland. It describes new trade regulations with these foreign powers. The illustration depicts a group of men in European attire bringing a large amount of goods to a Japanese nobleman or government official. Minor worming on the left side, just touching the margin. III. Woodblock print. [Drop-title]: Recently Four European Countries: Russia, United States, England, and France, Building Warships, n.d. (230 x 313 mm.). Large rendering of an American sidewheel steam-powered ship, with several sailors shown on board. IV. Woodblock print. Title from box in upper right: Kita Amerika Gasshukoku teio yori Kenjo Mitsugimono Shinajina [Offering of Many Gifts from the North American President], [ca. 1854] (227 x 300 mm.). This is a famous and rare image of the Norris locomotive that the American expedition presented to the Japanese. It is rendered here at 1/10 scale. V. Woodblock print. Untitled, dated June 1858 (225 x 292 mm.). A trilingual vocabulary for Russian, English, and “American,” with translations. There is a portrait, dated June 1858, depicting a bearded foreign translator, likely Dutch. VI. Woodblock print. Title: Image of a Steam Engine Ship, Gift from Russia, dated July 1858 (220 x 280 mm.). Scene with Russian ships offshore from an unidentified location in Japan, possibly Nagasaki.

Discovery Information

Subject
Japan—History—Restoration, 1853-1870

Physical Characteristics

File Count
2

Institutional Information

Collection
The Art of Japanese Publishing
IIIF Manifest URL

https://figgy.princeton.edu/concern/scanned_resources/bc7e7eaf-0787-4c81-ae5d-869a10f7ae7f/manifest