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Majestic Metal Meiji Craft
| Article
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21948 |
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Section : |
THE ARTS
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| Issue
Date : |
4 / 1990 |
1,675 Words |
| Author
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Victor Harris
Victor Harris is a curator in the Department of Japanese
Antiques at the British Museum. |
The 1868 restoration of imperial rule in Japan saw vast and sudden changes in almost all aspects of life. The nation was virtually isolated for two and a half centuries under the Shogun - military dictators of the Tokugawa family. Up until this time Japan had supported itself largely by agriculture, with a limited amount of strictly controlled overseas trade. But within a few decades of the ascension of the young Emperor Meiji to the throne, Japan became a significant world industrial power.
Immense changes occurred throughout Japanese society. The clans of sword wielding top-knotted hereditary warriors gave way to a national army and navy with modern firepower. Ironclad steamships replaced the old coast hugging, shallow-draft sailing vessels. Foreign specialists were invited by the Meiji government to advise on the installation of public works. They built steam railways, a telephone system, factories with modern manufacturing machinery, and, in short, introduced all the trimmings of Western enlightened society.
Fading Kimono
People adopted Western dress in place of the traditional kimono. The ancient textile crafts continued side by side with factories that mass produced cloth for three piece suits and women's dresses with Victorian bustles. A few years after the restoration, rows of elegant young women from well-to-do families could be seen seated at production lines of spinning machines in the new factories. The restoration movement had come from the educated samurai class, and they became the engineers of industry. Their daughters as well as their sons formed the enlightened workforce.
Overseas technology commanded the greatest respect in Japan, giving the strongest impetus to Meiji industry. But it was the traditional arts and crafts of Japan and the breathtaking quality of its workmanship that delighted the West. High prices for art objects in the West prompted an export drive. Particularly in demand were metal objects in daily use in Japan and crated with consummate skill using techniques and alloys entirely beyond the skills of occidental craftsmen.
Among these metal wonders there were ornaments, pure and simple. But an important class of exported objects was utilitarian, carried by the individual when wearing the kimono. For the samurai, and certain other classes, the sword was an object for the most sumptuous decoration. The pommel, chape, guard, and other metal sword mountings were carved into
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