Port of London England (Igirisu Rondon no kaikō), from the series Complete Enumeration of Scenic Places in Foreign Nations (Bankoku meisho zukushi no uchi), published by Yamadaya Shōjirō Possibly 1862

Editor: This print, "Port of London England" by Utagawa Yoshitora, is part of a series depicting foreign lands. I'm struck by how Yoshitora blends his traditional style with a distinctly Western scene. What do you see in this piece that might reveal more about how Japan viewed the West at the time? Curator: It's a fascinating fusion, isn't it? The meticulous detail of the buildings, almost like a memory being reconstructed, contrasts with the fanciful colors of the carriage and its occupants. It's as if Yoshitora is saying, "I see your London, but through my own lens." The text above probably helped contextualize what they were seeing. It makes you wonder what was accurate and what was… embellished! Editor: Absolutely. It’s a reminder that even depictions of reality are filtered through a cultural understanding. Curator: Precisely. And that artistic interpretation is always a dance between observation and imagination.