Igirisu fune|English Ship

Art Historical Context

Created in 1862 by Utagawa Yoshitora, *Igirisu fune* (English Ship) captures a moment of profound change in Japanese history. Produced as a woodblock print during the final years of the Edo period, this work belongs to the Yokohama-e genre, which emerged after Commodore Perry’s arrival in 1853 ended Japan’s long isolation. Yokohama prints like this one allowed curious urban audiences to glimpse the foreign vessels and people now anchoring in Japanese harbors. Yoshitora, a prolific ukiyo-e artist, employed the traditional techniques of ink and color on paper to depict Western ships with striking detail. The medium’s crisp lines and vibrant hues effectively convey fluttering flags and the imposing forms of foreign rigging, blending familiar Japanese printmaking with newly observed subjects. The tags highlighting faces, flags, and ships suggest the print’s focus on both the vessels themselves and the human activity aboard. Today in the Metropolitan Museum’s collection, *Igirisu fune* serves as a vivid record of Japan’s first encounters with global trade and technology. Its modest size—roughly 14 by 9¾ inches—made it affordable and widely circulated, helping shape public perceptions of the outside world during a pivotal era of modernization.

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...