A new Japan

After more than 250 years of deliberate isolation in the Edo era, resistance to the weakening ruling Tokugawa family grew. The last Shōgun abdicated in 1867 under pressure from reform advocates. The feudal state became a constitutional monarchy. In the subsequent Meiji era, which lasted until 1912, the newly founded Japanese Empire underwent radical modernization and Europeanization. These decades in the late 19th century are fundamental to the history and culture of Japan to this day. Through paintings, prints, photographs, sculptures, textiles, enamels and lacquer art, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston delves deep into this unique period of history. Over 150 exhibits are on display from July 7 to September 16 in the exhibition Meiji Modern: Fifty Years of New Japan.

The exhibits were borrowed from over 70 public and private collections to represent the extraordinary development of Japan during the Meiji era. Some artworks have only recently been rediscovered and have never been exhibited publicly before. The exhibition is divided into several chapters, including Crafting a Modern State, Navigating Changing Seas, Fashioning the Self and Making History, Enshrining Myth. The exhibited artists include Kano Hōgai, Hashiguchi Goyō, Mitsutani Kunishirō, Utagawa Kokunimasa and Utagawa Sadahide.