An English Woman with a Chinese Servant in the Foreign District, from the series Famous Places in Yokohama 1861

Utagawa Yoshikazu created this woodblock print, “An English Woman with a Chinese Servant in the Foreign District, from the series Famous Places in Yokohama,” around the 1860s. The print juxtaposes the Western woman on horseback with her Chinese servant, creating a visual hierarchy. Notice how the composition emphasizes the foreign woman's height and central placement, drawing immediate attention to her. Her dress and the horse are rendered with flat color and decorative patterns, typical of the Ukiyo-e style, yet they also attempt to capture Western fashion. The Chinese servant, dressed in traditional clothing, stands beside her, an umbrella in hand, and is an element that reinforces the colonial narrative. Yoshikazu uses contrasting colors and stylized forms to capture the exoticism of this cross-cultural encounter. The print functions as a window into a specific historical moment, reflecting Japan's fascination with the West and the complex power dynamics inherent in cultural exchange. It’s a formal study of how visual elements can articulate cultural and social positions, inviting us to consider the gaze through which such encounters were represented.