Americans on an Outing (Amerikajin yūgyō)

Ippōsai Yoshifuji

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This print was created in Yokohama, a port city where foreign ships would become more common after the 1868 Meiji Restoration, which marked the collapse of the military government of the shoguns and the opening to the West. Artists such as Yoshifuji captured the exotic clothing and what, to the Japanese, seemed like the peculiar facial features of Westerners. The mother’s over-the-top bonnet and elaborate earrings seem to be concoctions based on European images.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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.

Metropolitan Museum of Art