Kurohune, An Alien Vessel
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Format:
- Oban
- Publisher:
- Watanabe Shozaburo
- Edition:
- Published by Watanabe Shozaburo
- Source:
- Japanese Art Open Database
Description
The "black ships" of Commodore Matthew Perry's 1853 squadron — steam-powered warships whose dark hulls and smoking stacks were unlike anything Japanese observers had seen — made one of the most dramatic entrances in modern history when they arrived in Edo Bay. Shotei's print depicts the alien vessels with the curiosity and aesthetic engagement that Japanese artists brought to the shock of Western technology, the vessels rendered in careful detail against the bay and sky that framed Japan's forced opening to the modern world.
More Prints by Takahashi Shotei
More Boats & Ships Prints
Ship Alongside Dock, Shôwa period, dated 1954
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Sailing Boats: Night (Hansen, yoru), from the series "Seto Inland Sea (Seto Naikai shu)"
Hansen, yoru
1926
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Sailing Boats: Morning (Hansen, asa), from the series "Seto Inland Sea (Seto Naikai shu)"
Hansen, asa
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Hamaotsu Yacht Harbor
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Featured in Collections
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Frequently Asked Questions
Kurohune, An Alien Vessel was created by Takahashi Shotei (高橋松亭).
Kurohune, An Alien Vessel was published by Watanabe Shozaburo.
Kurohune, An Alien Vessel depicts boats & ships.