New Silk New Japan

           Hyun Jang:

           During late Tokugawa period, Japan experienced a great deal of social and political changes. One of the main causes that significantly shaped the nation was opening of Japan by Westerners, whose beginning is mainly marked by Commodore Perry’s arrival in Japan. This hand tinted photograph created by Francis Brinkley exemplifies economic changes that took place throughout the late 1800s. As Japan slowly opened its trade up to a number of Western nations, different goods were now being introduced and produced in Japan. One notable example of a new emerging industry was the silk industry, as portrayed in Brinkley’s work.[1] Opening of Yokohama contributed greatly to transformation of domestic silk markets in Japan.[2] Several components of Brinkley’s work illustrate the newly booming silk industry of the time in Japan.

            As the caption below the photograph, “Spinning Silk from the Cocoons,” is written in English, this photograph was probably intended for Westerners of the time. This work was created around 1897-1898, and during this time, many Westerners were greatly interested and even fascinated with Japanese people and their culture as Japan just recently fully opened itself to outsiders for the first time. This work served various purposes. This photograph not only let Westerners see how the popular Japanese silk was being produced, but also provided a glimpse of everyday life in Japan. Three Japanese females in their traditional clothing seem to be working on household-wide production of silk in this photograph, several pieces of information that would not have been available to most Westerners just a few decades ago. Moreover, this photograph greatly demonstrates the social and economic impact that opening of Japan by Westerners had on Japan and its people.

            For a long period of time leading up to the late Tokugawa period, Japan had mainly closed itself from foreign influences, and thus was characterized by its great sense of national unity. Most changes were caused by internal factors, and outside forces had been never significant enough to lead to any major changes in Japan. However, when a number of Western nations followed Commodore Perry’s visit and subsequently opened up Japan, Japan was now facing imminent changes that would significantly shape its society and prepare Japan for becoming one of the most influential superpowers of world politics in a few decades. Andrew Gordon maintains in “A Modern history of Japan”, “People in late Tokugawa Japan, who believed they had nothing to gain from any increased contact with the barbarians from the West, were correct to feel threatened. Their way of life, from the material to the political, was about to change irrevocably.”[3]

            This photograph represents the emergence of silk industry, which is one of the main economic changes that Japanese people experienced. The significance of Brinkley’s work is its great depiction of changing Japan and Japanese people during late Tokugawa period. Initial reluctance and terrorism against foreigners turned into gradual fascination with outsiders, and enabled Japanese people to change their society and economy to adapt to a new world system and benefit themselves.