Article Analysis Essay on Shifting Perspectives on the Shogunate's Last Years by Sugimoto Fumiko

Introduction

Shifting Perspectives on the Shogunate's Last Years: Gountei Sadahide's Bird's-Eye View Landscape Prints by Sugimoto Fumiko describes a type of ancient Japanese art Nishiki-e. Nishiki-e (multi-colored prints on woodblock) availed news that was out of the ordinary to a vast audience. The news involved a variety of topics including rumors, courtesans, incidences, and famous actors. In the first half of the nineteenth century, Nishiki-e was recognized as a genre on its own. It was printed in large numbers by publishers and widely distributed. It brought news to the people of Eldo by informing of current events in and essential developments in accompaniment with entertainment and amusement.

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The Shogunate did not favour this open circulation of news that was facilitated byNishiki-e. Regulations were instituted to prevent the circulation of such information, particularly controversies and politically relevant events (Fumiko & Burtscher, 2017). In order to circumvent these regulations, Nishiki-e artists devised a way of delivering their message without having to state the characters in explicit terms. They reported current happenings by allusion to references instead of explicit exposition. In this manner, the artists could deliver their messages without violating the regulations.

To report a current political occurrence, for instance, Nishiki-e used a code such as re-telling a legend well known to the people in a new way. During this time, another genre, the bird's eye view also developed. It was regarded as a subgenre of Nishiki-e referred to as "current-events Nishiki-e." Bird's eye view was characterized by perspective prints of landscapes and cityscapes. Panoramic type of landscape was closely associated with the artist, Gountei Sadahide. Sadahide was able to adapt his style to successfully suit the use as a conduit for current information.

In an effort to minimize extravagance and correct morals, popular prints of Nishiki-e including courtesans and actors was banned, and those who violated this prosecuted more harshly. Due to this challenge, publishers and artist developed an alternative, including riddle pictures and political caricatures. They now could still refer to current events through indirect allusion. The coding of the messages depended on similar techniques of playfully layering references and parody. The information was loosely coded and thereby liable to various interpretations. In most of his work, Sadahide did not have a particular political but was instead more focused on disseminating information on current events.

Sadahide's bird's eye view paintings adapted with the changing ties in Japan during the nineteenth century. Using the panoramic landscape paintings, he was able to portray the progression of the Shogunates. He also used the same technique to report on other political and military tidings in Japan.

After the collapse of the Shogunate, Sadahide's focus shifted to the larger world outside of Eldo town. He illustrated current events in cities such as Kyoto and Tokyo and ports such as Nagasaki and Yokohama. In the same manner that Sadahide had precision when painting under Nishiki-e, he captured the geographical areas of interest with a high degree of precision. These geographical regions comprised newly settled areas and ports. Using his high accuracy in cartography, he could emphasize a particular area of concern. Furthermore, since Sadahide's work illustrated important rivers and other physical and political aspects, his work was also of geographical significance.

It is apparent that Sadahide was able to adapt to the changing Japan during the nineteenth century to deliver his messages through his art, the bird's eye's view. His talent distinguished him, particularly his Cartographical precision. Therefore, amidst the challenges posed then, the people remained informed of current events then.

The author of Shifting Perspectives on the Shogunate's Last Years: Gountei Sadahide's Bird's-Eye View Landscape Prints Sugimoto Fumiko is very persuasive. The author reports about the progression of Nishiki-e, with the introduction of newer subgenres with a lot of specificities. The author's perspective of the time in history which she reports is explicitly stated in her work. She makes it apparent, for instance, that Sadahide was a great artist. Her account has particular dates of events. Furthermore, the art she describes, Nishiki-e genres are present in the article as evidence to back up her claims. Moreover, the presence of these photographs of the Nishiki-e prints she describes asserts what is illustrated by the article and enables the reader to verify her account. Thereby, for these reasons, the author is very persuasive.

The author relies mostly on publications of other writers at the time in history and the photographs of the artwork of interest. The possible reason why the author chose to use the photographs of the artwork of interest Nishiki-e extensively was to present the readers with these paintings to enable them to form their own opinion and to justify her interpretations of them. Moreover, the presence of these paintings allows her to convey some part of her message that cannot be accurately expressed in writing. The use of photographic evidence also gives her work more credibility since she can verify the existence of most of the Nishiki-e prints she describes. The publications used at the tie were historical accounts of the time. These are useful for the author to contextualize her argument by linking what she thinks was the meaning of the prints to what was happening then. Also, the publications of other writers at the time aid in the verification of the author's claim concerning the interpretations of the prints then. In general terms, the author's choice of this evidence was influenced by their originality hence increasing her work's credibility.

The author's central argument is that the Nishiki-e prints were an important channel through which information was passed in the nineteenth century, in the town of Eldo (and Japan at large). I find the author's argument biased to some degree. The author is inclined towards the opinion that Sahadide was an excellent artist. The bias shapes the author's argument to such a degree that she ignores the effect of some significant aspects of the Nishiki-e prints. The reason is that although what the author asserts may have been true for the more substantial part, she ignores some fundamental flaws that the technique may have had on the message sent by the prints. One of these flaws is that the coding of the message on the prints was loose leaving the interpretation of the prints subject to many versions of interpretation. The author only mentions this briefly; something which ought to have been extensively covered since it may have had a significant impact on the general effectiveness of using prints for the delivery of messages. An example of a print that was subjected to various interpretations was The Earth Spider Conjuring up Monsters at Minamoto no Yorimitsu's Residence (Fumiko & Burtscher, 2017). The ambiguity of the code in this painting left its interpretation subject to all manner of interpretations to suit the current issues in Eldo. One interpretation alleges that Yorimitsu represents a remarkable person and the others, the four retainers represent unknown officials. Another version interpreted the painting as a satirical reference to the war against opium at the time. These interpretations seem far apart depicting the potential issues that Nishiki-e prints may have had regarding its use to disseminate information.

Apart from the author's bias towards the positive aspects of Nishiki-e one, the author presents her chief argument in a manner that allows one to follow through and the argument quite convincing. The author does not just make claims to support her argument, but she supports them with evidence from credible sources. These sources include the images of the Nishiki-e prints. The inclusion of evidence also strengthens her argument and gives it solidity.

After reading the article, one wonders what the general population thought then was the meanings of the Nishiki-e prints. Although the author refers to some publications at the time, they do not entirely represent the opinions of the majority of the people. Possibly, these publications represented the opinions of the fairly elite then. One is left wondering, were the ordinary people of Eldo and Japan at large capable of deciphering the coded information in retold legends? How was it possible for them to link up coded messages with current events if they were unaware of these events?

The author should have incorporated more details from publications during the nineteenth century. Specifically, those giving details about what the people thought then of the Nishiki-e prints. Incorporation of these would help fill in bits in the article that seems absent. These gaps include the thoughts of several different classes of people on the meaning of given Nishiki-e prints. Furthermore, the author should have indicated what audience the Nishiki-e prints targeted. It is, without doubt, apparent that the Nishiki-e prints were created with the target audience in mind since they were the ones to decipher the codes. An elaboration of the target audience would help clarify some of the information. An example where it would be of particular significance is that it would help the reader understand why the Shogunates were not supportive of clear messages being spread using the prints.

The article refers to Japanese art in the nineteenth century through a lens that makes the other essential functions it served apparently. The article reveals that in the nineteenth century, art was utilized through the Nishiki-e prints in a unique way to pass a lot of information using minimal space. It explains the potential of artwork as channels through which tones of coded messages can be delivered. The article also reveals the uniqueness of Nishiki-e as a genre that confers it the ability to include a lot of details.

Conclusion

In summary, the author's argument is sufficiently supported with evidence to make it persuasive. However, there seems to be a need for the author to incorporate more sources to support some of her assertions. The article informs of Nishiki-e art from a new perspective that draws the relevance of this kind of artwork to unconventional use that is, disseminating information.

Reference

Fumiko, S., & Burtscher, M. (2017). Shifting Perspectives on the Shogunate's Last Years: Gountei Sadahide's Bird's-Eye View Landscape Prints. Monumenta Nipponica, 72(1), 1-30. doi:10.1353/mni.2017.0000