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Chapter 2. Collecting Japan’s Curios: World Fairs, Imperial Tombs, and Preservation Laws
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34 Chapter 2 Collecting Japan’s Curios World Fairs, Imperial Tombs, and Preservation Laws The idea of “national objects” being collected and catalogued as commodities for display and exhibition can be traced back to the mid-nineteenth century, when world fairs were staged in the capitals of Europe. Far-flung nations and colonized outposts of the British and French empires from India, Africa, Asia, and Australia competed with established colonial enterprises and lesser-known merchants to send to these world fairs their most valuable products, ranging from natural and raw materials to man-made inventions such as food products, wine, and curios. Even dioramas of “live” native peoples and their photographic reproductions on souvenir postcards were presented for the enlightenment, education, and entertainment of the masses (Geary and Webb 1998; Maxwell 1999). Imperial commissioners appointed by world-fair organizers judged submissions based on their utility , price, beauty, and popularity, as assessed by the sheer number of curious visitors who flocked to national pavilions.1 The artisans and merchants of nations large and small who were awarded coveted winning medals were influential in creating new tastes and fashion trends, such as drinking tea and chocolate, and decorating homes with Oriental rugs, fabrics, and china (Briggs 1989; Hoffenberg 2001, 63–98). The fascination with arts and crafts imported from the Far East among increasing numbers of middle-class consumers living in the capitals of Europe was also driven by the marketing skills of globe-trotting diplomats of the day, such as Sir Rutherford Alcock (1809–97), the first consul-general to open a British legation in Tokyo. Alcock has occupied a special position in the history of Japanese arts because he was the first foreign consultant to be commissioned by the shogun Tokugawa Iemochi (r. 1858–66) to represent Collecting Japan’s Curios | 35 Japan at the Great London Exposition held in South Kensington in 1862 (Tokyo Kokuritsu Hakubutsukan 1976, 9–10). Alcock’s personal recollections of Japan’s first official showing appear prominently in his volume Art and Art Industries in Japan, which was published in 1878 and is recognized as one of the earliest treatises on the subject. In the preface, Alcock states that he was approached by the shogun himself to intervene on his behalf to obtain “contributions, illustrative of the arts and industries of Japan, either from Japanese themselves or from any of the foreign mercantile community willing to assist in the work.” However, despite the open endorsement of officialdom, Alcock confessed that he had been very disappointed at the general lack of cooperation not only from the shogun himself but also from the powerful daimyo, whom Alcock accused of being interested only in preserving their “cherished isolation from foreign influences and interests .” In response, Alcock, who was by no means a shy man, claimed that he had “no choice but to take upon himself the whole task, since he was determined that Japan not be un-represented.”2 Alcock achieved his mission by visiting all of the various magazines and shops in Yokohama, as well as in the smaller cities and trading quarters in Edo, where only diplomats were allowed access at that time. In these rich and busy quarters, Alcock bragged that he worked tirelessly to track down “those items the Japanese found most attractive or to find purchasers among foreigners.” Much to his delight, every day he came upon “some new and interesting fabric to light, some original application to Art to industrial work of unrivalled beauty.” Only a few years later, upon his return to London from Japan, Alcock was gratified to find that Japanese fabrics, silks, embroideries, lacquerwares, china, faience, bronzes, and enamels could be found for sale in all of the major shops of every capital of Europe. He therefore remained confident that there was indeed a bright future for Japanese goods, because of their “inherent beauty, grace and perfection of workmanship, variety of form, and novelty of design, as well as bargain prices far below that of European articles” (Alcock 1878, 1–3). Contemporary sources also confirm that the successful showing of Alcock’s assemblage at the London Great Exposition inspired a more organized Japanese mission to the 1867 Paris International, where a pavilion featured a traditional house in which three kimono-clad ladies were on hand to serve tea (Takagi Yōko 2002, 25). When news of the exciting and lucrative world of international fairs [3.239.13.1] Project MUSE (2024-03-29 09:03 GMT) | CHAPTER 2 36...