Woodblock print by Watanabe Nobukazu shows families in Ueno Park, Tokyo, the nation’s first such public space. Subjects wear a mix of Western and Japanese garments, from traditional kimono and geta sandals to top hats and button-down coats . The exhibition “Meiji Modern: Fifty Years of New Japan” is at the Smart Museum of Art at the University of Chicago.That might seem like a silly way to put it, but it’s also true.
Zeshin also contributes a simple bowl for serving sweets, turned from conifer wood and minimally decorated with three exquisitely rendered poem cards, imitated in lacquer.
Far better natural and unnatural scenes can be found in the many folding screens that are a highlight of the show. Utagawa Kokunimasa’s sprawling “Hell Courtesan” is as witty as it is macabre, scattering across its silver-leafed panels anatomically correct skeletons who promenade, play music and board games, even get acupuncture treatment.