Chinese Man from Nanking

Currently not on view

Chinese Man from Nanking

1860

Utagawa Yoshitomi (Japanese, active c. 1848-80) Published by Jōshūya Jūzō, Kinjūdō Engraved by Hori Yasu (?)

A significant number of Chinese men lived in Japan after the country opened its borders to international trade in 1859. They often worked as servants for Western households, but many, who were already accustomed to working with American and European traders in their home country, performed the more significant duties of mercantile assistants. These men were of particular help in deciphering documents because, although the Chinese and Japanese spoken languages bear no resemblance, the written languages share common ideograms.

Currently not on view

Object Details

Titles:

Chinese Man from Nanking

Date:

1860

Artists:

Utagawa Yoshitomi (Japanese, active c. 1848-80) Published by Jōshūya Jūzō, Kinjūdō Engraved by Hori Yasu (?)

Medium:

Color woodcut

Dimensions:

Sheet (Ōban tate-e): 14 3/8 × 9 5/8 inches (36.5 × 24.4 cm)

Classification:

Prints

Credit Line:

Purchased with the Lola Downin Peck Fund and with funds contributed by Lessing J. Rosenwald, Mr. and Mrs. Robert A. Hauslohner, Dr. Emanuel Wolff, the Derald and Janet Ruttenberg Foundation, Mrs. Edward G. Budd, Jr., and David P. Willis, 1968

Accession Number:

1968-165-77

Geography:

Made in Japan, Asia

Context:

Period: Edo Period (1615-1868)

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Currently not on view