Mirror of National Costumes of All Nations (Bankoku ishō kagami)

1882

Not on view

These prints show the Japanese imperial couple surrounded by people in national costumes from around the world, some of which are identified in the red cartouches (from right to left): France, India, Korea, Britain, Japan (Dai Nippon), China, “Arabia,” Africa, America, and Russia. In keeping with the effort to be viewed as a modern leader, the emperor sports a mustache and beard and is dressed in a black field officer’s uniform. The empress, on the other hand, wears traditional court garments and holds a large painted fan.

Artwork Details

Overview

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Provenance

Exhibition History

『万国衣装鑑』
Title: Mirror of National Costumes of All Nations (Bankoku ishō kagami)
Artist: Kobayashi Kiyochika (Japanese, 1847–1915)
Period: Meiji period (1868–1912)
Date: 1882
Culture: Japan
Medium: Triptych of woodblock prints (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper
Dimensions: Image (a): 14 x 9 1/4 in. (35.6 x 23.5 cm)
Image (b): 13 7/8 x 9 in. (35.2 x 22.9 cm)
Image (c): 14 x 9 1/2 in. (35.6 x 24.1 cm)
Classification: Prints
Credit Line: Bequest of William S. Lieberman, 2005
Object Number: 2007.49.322a–c
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

More Artwork

By Kobayashi Kiyochika

In the same medium

From the same time and place

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Street Scene in the Outskirts of Edo on an Evening in Winter, Kobayashi Kiyochika Japanese, Woodblock print; ink and color on paper, Japan — Street Scene in the Outskirts of Edo on an Evening in Winter
Kobayashi Kiyochika
ca. 1878

Illustration of the Great Korean War (Chōsen dai sensō no zu), Kobayashi Kiyochika Japanese, Right-hand sheet of a triptych of woodblock prints; ink and color on paper, Japan — Illustration of the Great Korean War (Chōsen dai sensō no zu)
Kobayashi Kiyochika
August, 1882

Fuji with Boat at Miho in Sunshu (Shizuoka), Kobayashi Kiyochika Japanese, Triptych of woodblock prints; ink and color on paper, Japan — Fuji with Boat at Miho in Sunshu (Shizuoka)
Kobayashi Kiyochika
October 1878

Fireworks at Ikenohata, Kobayashi Kiyochika Japanese, Woodblock print; ink and color on paper, Japan — Fireworks at Ikenohata
Kobayashi Kiyochika
1881 (Meiji 14)

Heian Period Courtier on a Moonlit Beach, Kobayashi Kiyochika Japanese, Triptych of woodblock prints; ink and color on paper, Japan — Heian Period Courtier on a Moonlit Beach
Kobayashi Kiyochika
19th century

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