Shinkokyo Oite Seiden Kempo Happu no zu|View of the Issuance of the State Constitution in the State Chamber of the New Imperial Palace
March 2, 1889 (Meiji 22)
Medium
One sheet of a triptych of woodblock prints; ink and color on paper
Dimensions
Image: 14 3/4 × 9 1/2 in. (37.5 × 24.1 cm)
Classification
Prints
Culture & Period
Japan · Meiji period (1868–1912)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Lincoln Kirstein, 1959
Accession Number
JP3235
Tags
Art Historical Context
Behold *View of the Issuance of the State in the State Chamber of the New Imperial Palace* (Shinkokyo Oite Seidenempo Happu no zu), a captivating woodblock print by Ad Ginkō, dated 2, 1889 (Meiji 22). This single sheet from a triptych captures a momentous scene inside the newly built Imperial Palace in Tokyo during Japan's Meiji period (1868–1912). On this date, the Meiji Constitution—Japan's first—was formally issued, proclaiming a constitutional monarchy and symbolizing the nation's rapid modernization after centuries of isolation. The print vividly depicts the opulent State Chamber filled w...
About the Artist
Adachi Ginkō · 1853–1908
Adachi Ginkō (安達 吟光, 1853–after 1908), born Adachi Heishichi in the spring of 1853, emerged as a prolific Japanese printmaker during the transformative Meiji era. Little is known of his early years beyond his birth in the second month of Kaei 6 (roughly March or April), but he pursued formal training under the painter Goseda Hōryū, a master of Western-style yōga techniques. This exposure to Europe...