Five Nationalities at a Banquet, Utagawa Yoshikazu, 1861

Five Nationalities at a Banquet, Utagawa Yoshikazu, 1861

nishiki-e, h 368mm × w 739mm More details

Forced by the United States, Japan gradually opened its borders in the 1850s. This triptych features the foreigners who first came to Japan at that time. The labels convey their nationalities. At the left are a French couple with a child and two Chinese men. Sitting at the table, from left to right, are an English couple, two Dutchmen, a German couple and several Americans.