Exhibiting Japan: Gender and national identity at the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893.

Abstract

Participation in international expositions served the Meiji-state by rhetorically constructing its identity as a modern nation with ancient traditions. Japanese commissioners in Chicago wished to counter foreign criticism by demonstrating that in modernization Meiji Japan had not lost its cultural authenticity. This was achieved in part by promoting historical sources for architectural exhibits, promoting the vitality of contemporary traditional crafts and fine arts, and by representing Japanese women as simultaneously bearers of tradition and rivals of their Victorian contemporaries in education, philanthropy and industry. Following Kumari Jayawardena, I suggest that this dual-time nature of femininity was an effective strategy in Japan's anti-colonial efforts seen at the fair. My study focuses on how the built environment and supporting materials argued for benevolent rule by the Emperor, progress toward liberal goals such as universal education and multi-party elections under a constitutional monarchy, and thus removal of extraterritoriality and other unequal clauses in trade treaties. Initially declining to participate in the Woman's Building, Meiji officials later agreed to display three rooms: a boudoir, library and gallery for women's artworks, collectively known as <italic>A Japanese Lady's Boudoir</italic>. The exhibit, its accoutrements, accompanying pamphlet, and book, <italic> Japanese Women</italic>, were financed by the Empress. Nevertheless, the exhibits drew upon state resources and complemented the ideological content of the <italic> Hooden</italic> (Phoenix Hall) and its didactic text by Okakura Kakuzo. This dissertation argues that although the <italic>Boudoir</italic> has received less scholarly attention than the <italic>Hooden </italic>, both served to legitimize the sovereignty of Japan's new constitutional monarchy and to galvanize support for its re-negotiation of unequal treaties. Analysis of the period literature in English and Japanese language suggests that Japan's exhibits at the World's Columbian Exposition operated within the context of racism and the discourse of progress. This dissertation offers an interpretive analysis of the art and architecture of Japan as introduced to the world in the Chicago fair of 1893.