Ancient Places, Modern Places. The Role of the Meisho-e Genre in the Formation of Japanese National Identity through the Case Study of the Series Souvenir of Ilustrations of Famous Places of Keihan (1895)
Abstract
In this article we will study the role of the meisho-e genre in Meiji period prints as an instrument for the configuration and transmission of visual images of the Japanese national identity. To do so, we will turn to the case study of the series of lithographs ‘Souvenir of Illustrations of Famous Places of Keihan’ (Keihan miyage meisho zuga) (1895), from the artist Hayashi Motoharu (1858- 1903), in the context of the Fourth National Industrial Exhibition (1895). This series offered a set of illustrations of ‘famous places’ (meisho) in Kyoto and Osaka, loaded with references and meanings that claimed these sceneries as symbols of Japan’s modernity and tradition, as well as of their respective regions. Thanks to its affordable cost and easy diffusion, the series helped to promote among the public an image of Japan and its regions through cultural landscapes, and thus fix it in the collective memory.
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