Kamakura

Kamakura, created in 1916, depicts the ancient seaside capital south of Tokyo where the first military government of Japan, the Kamakura Shogunate, ruled from 1185 to 1333. By Bartlett's era, the city was famous for its Great Buddha, the monumental bronze Amida Buddha that has sat in the open air since a tsunami destroyed its enclosing temple hall in 1498, and for its numerous Zen temples nestled among wooded hills.

Bartlett's oban woodblock print records this historically rich setting with the fresh perspective of a Western visitor. Kamakura's combination of ancient religious sites, natural beauty, and relative accessibility from Tokyo made it a frequent subject for Japanese printmakers, but Bartlett brought his own sensibility to the scene, shaped by years of painting European and Asian landscapes. The 1916 date places this during his productive Japanese sojourn, when he was creating prints of both Japanese and Indian subjects.