Imagining and Imaging Meiji Japan
(Bruce Coats, Scripps College)

The introduction of Western arts, especially photography, to 19th century Japan greatly changed how Japanese artists imagined and imaged their worlds. Prof. Coats will look at two woodblock print artists who documented the dramatic changes happening in Meiji Japan (1868-1912) through depictions of urban life, politics and foreign wars. Prof. Coats teaches art, history and humanities and is the director of the Clark Humanities Museum. He was one of the first in the U.S. to create interactive exhibition on Japan. That Smithsonian exhibition focused on Edo. He also worked with the Smithsonian Channel to create a documentary on Japanese gardens.