8 Exhibitions


Famous rabbits of today, anonymous, circa 1868-1877, Meiji period. All images from the collection of the Edo-Tokyo Museum


Looks Annoying (1888) from the series Thirty-two Aspects of Customs and Manners by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, Meiji period, colour woodblock print


Eastern Customs, Variations of Happiness, The Mice of Prosperity (1890) by Hashimoto Chikanobu, Meiji period, colour woodblock print published by Takekawa Unokichi


New Year’s Eve Foxfires at the Changing Tree, Oji from the series100 Famous Views of Edo by Utagawa Hiroshige, circa 1857, Edo period, colour woodblock print


A JAPANESE BESTIARY


A fondness for pets and other animals knows no limits or boundaries, as can be seen in this exploration of


the


residents of Edo’s connection to animals and nature during the 18th and 19th centuries through Japanese prints. Te exhibition marks the 25th anniversary of Maison de la culture du Japon in Paris. Co-organised with the Edo-Tokyo Museum, it brings together more than a 100 works to evoke the history of these relationships with animals that also reveal the unqiue culture in which this coexistence came into being. Shuko Koyama, curator and conservator at Edo-Tokyo Museum, draws attention to the fact that an enormous variety of animals can be found found on a diverse range of materials, including ukiyo-e, historical documents and books, as well as


textiles, daily


utensils, toys and other decorative items. Te


Edo brought


heralded a long period of peace for Japan that


and


prosperity to its citizens. Tis new chapter in the history of the country started with Tokugawa Ieyasu’s defeat of the Toyotomi forces in the Siege of Osaka (1614-15), when a new reign name of Genna (1615) was declared and


the turbulent era


period (1603-1868) stability


The citizens of


Edo lived with a deep connection to nature and the seasons


reference books on how to deal with all


types of domestic pets were


published during the period. Edo was a city surounded by hills and rivers – and open to the sea – enabling the inhabitants to live with a deep connection to nature. As nature was so important, various seasonal rites and festivals marked the course of the year and the changes of season offered many opportunities to admire the superb


natural of war


experienced during the Momoyama period (15680-1600) ended. Te rise of the Tokugawa shogunate (1603- 1867) also resulted in a shift of power to a new city – Edo. Although the capital remained with the emperor in Kyoto and kept its place as the bastion of traditional Japanese culture, Edo soon challenged its royal neighbour in trade, entertainment and this commercial success also saw a burgeoning merchant class. Edo expanded rapidly and soon became a very large city – its population rose, at the beginning of the 18th century, to one million inhabitants. Alongside this growing city, all


kinds of animals coexisted with the population – domestic animals and livestock, as well as a range of wild beasts living in the uncultivated spaces on the outskirts of the city. One foreign resident in Edo, the American zoologist Edward S Morse


ASIAN ART | NOVEMBER 2022 | Two-fold screen depicting a quail singing contest, circa 1751-1799, Edo period (1838-1925), commented, ‘During


my many rickshaw rides, I noticed how carefully the drivers avoided cats, dogs and chickens on the road. I have so far never witnessed any manifestation of anger or mistreatment towards animals’. Te exhibition opens with this


quote from Morse, who had arrived in Japan, in 1877, to teach at the University of Tokyo. He is surprised by the kindness with which the Japanese treated animals and notes that city dwellers carefully went around the dogs and cats lounging in the middle of the road so as not to disturb them; and that they call them using the honorific suffix ‘san’. A work in the exhibition by the artist and designer Georges Bigot (1860- 1927), who lived in Japan for 17 years


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from 1882, shows daily life in Japan at that time and humorously illustrates this cohabitation between animals and humans. Tis understanding between


humans and animals is also depicted on a screen (a replica) that accurately records the appearance of the city of Edo and its suburbs in the 17th century. In addition to numerous scenes representing the shogun Iemitsu pursuing stags and wild boars, or hunting falcons,


there are also


monkey tamers, stray dogs fighting, working oxen and sacred horses from Shinto monasteries. Te original screens, created in 1634, are now in the National Museum of Japanese History. Animals used for work are also portrayed in Edo-period art, such as


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horses, oxen, and dogs. A section in the exhibition explores the different roles of animals in connection not only to the elite samurai life, but also animals used for work by peasants in agriculture, as well as their place in the life of the merchant classes. Te domestication of animals


became increasingly popular as the long period of stability gave the citizens of Edo the time and leisure to enjoy life; all types of cultural activities boomed and, in the home, people were happy to surround themselves with their pets. Tese include, in addition to small dogs and cats, birds such as nightingales and quail, as well as insects such crickets and locusts, which were appreciated for their song. In response to popular demand, many ukiyo-e prints and


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landscapes nearby.


Within this admiration of nature, the life of wild animals was included as a familiar feature and they were closely tied to religious beliefs and the rituals of the annual calendar. Te space outside the city limits,


where the wild animals roamed, was where the samurai class regularly practised hunting and honed their equine skills. Falcons were used in the art of hunting to capture wild birds such as cranes, geese, and ducks. Larger animals, such as deer and wild boar, were also hunted on a large scale, usually organised by the shogun. Certain wild animals were also


associated with religious beliefs, as can be seen in a print by Utagawa Hiroshige, New Year’s Eve Foxfires at the Changing Tree at Oji. Here, foxes gather at the large, old enoki (hackberry) tree on New Year’s Eve to prepare to pay homage at the Oji Inari shrine, the headquarters of the Inari cult in eastern Japan (Kanto). Te cult centres on the god of the rice field, for whom the fox serves as


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