“Ceremonial Attire” from the series An Array of Auspicious Customs of Eastern Japan (Azuma fūzoku, fukuzukushi: Tairei fuku)

“Ceremonial Attire” from the series An Array of Auspicious Customs of Eastern Japan (Azuma fūzoku, fukuzukushi: Tairei fuku)

Yōshū (Hashimoto) Chikanobu

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

A Meiji government official dressed in a Western-style military uniform receives his cockaded hat from a female attendant, while another holds his European-style sword. The group stands in a Western-style building, probably the home of this modern man, but the women still wear traditional hakama (culottes) and robes. The word fuku in the print’s title is a pun: it can mean “auspicious” and “clothing.”

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

“Ceremonial Attire” from the series An Array of Auspicious Customs of Eastern Japan (Azuma fūzoku, fukuzukushi: Tairei fuku)“Ceremonial Attire” from the series An Array of Auspicious Customs of Eastern Japan (Azuma fūzoku, fukuzukushi: Tairei fuku)“Ceremonial Attire” from the series An Array of Auspicious Customs of Eastern Japan (Azuma fūzoku, fukuzukushi: Tairei fuku)“Ceremonial Attire” from the series An Array of Auspicious Customs of Eastern Japan (Azuma fūzoku, fukuzukushi: Tairei fuku)“Ceremonial Attire” from the series An Array of Auspicious Customs of Eastern Japan (Azuma fūzoku, fukuzukushi: Tairei fuku)

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.