仏蘭西国|France (furansukoku)

Art Historical Context

This striking triptych by Utagawa Yoshitora captures a lively scene of French figures amid a mountainous landscape with carriages, trees, and elegantly dressed men and women. Created in the second month of 1865, during Japan’s late Edo period, the work belongs to the Yokohama-e genre—woodblock prints that portrayed Westerners living in the newly opened treaty port of Yokohama. Yoshitora, a prolific member of the Utagawa school, specialized in such images that satisfied Japanese curiosity about foreign customs following Commodore Perry’s arrival in 1853. Printed in vibrant ink and color on paper, the three sheets were designed to be displayed side by side, a format that allowed artists to present expansive panoramic views. The medium’s affordability and reproducibility made these prints widely accessible, helping shape popular perceptions of the outside world at a moment of rapid cultural exchange. Today the triptych offers viewers a vivid glimpse into Japan’s first encounters with modern international life, blending traditional ukiyo-e techniques with novel subject matter.

About the Artist

Utagawa Yoshitora · 1845–1880

Utagawa Yoshitora (歌川 芳虎), also known by his art names Ichimōsai, Mōsai, and Kinchōrō, was a prolific ukiyo-e artist born in Edo (modern Tokyo), where he trained under the renowned Utagawa Kuniyoshi, recognized as his oldest pupil. Little is known of his early life, which remains sparsely documented, but his earliest works include illustrations for the book *Story of Karasu Kanzaemon’s Loyalty* in...