Utagawa Yoshitora, "American on Horseback"

Beginning in the 1850s, the once-reclusive Japan saw an influx of foreigners from the West, many arriving through the newly opened port of Yokohama. Japanese artists documented these unfamiliar visitors and the rapidly changing world around them in a genre of prints known as yokohama-e.

In this design, an American woman is shown sitting confidently on a horse in full dress. A wonderful design offering a rare glimpse into Japan’s first sustained encounters with the West and a society undergoing profound change.

Date: 1861
Size: Oban
Publisher: Yamasho
Condition: Excellent color and condition
Frame Shown: 16" x 24" x 1/2", Classic Wood, Ebony

Utagawa Yoshitora (active 1850 to 1880) is widely regarded today for his yokohama-e and documenting Japan's opening to the West. A pupil of Kuniyoshi, Yoshitora also is known for his warrior prints.