The bond between the Japanese and animals as seen in ukiyo-e

How Japan stunned an American zoologist

In 1877, a visiting American zoologist named Edward S. Morse was stunned to see how kindly individuals handled animals in Tokyo. “It was unimaginable within the USA that rickshaw drivers would exit of their strategy to keep away from cats and canines on the road. He was additionally intrigued by individuals referring to cats with ‘-san‘ (a Japanese honorific used typically for addressing individuals),” says Koyama. This sort of relationship with animals continues to be pretty regular in modern-day Japan.

“A Collection of Happiness, Customs within the East: ‘Lucky Mice'” (1890) by Yoshu Chikanobu, portraying ladies taking part in with white mice, which have been mentioned to convey luck
| Courtesy of Edo-Tokyo Museum

Keeping small animals was one of many pleasures frequent individuals within the Edo Period loved, however surprisingly, mice have been additionally cherished as pets. “Back then, individuals stored mice like we do now with hamsters. They have been thought-about messengers of Daikokuten, the god of excellent fortune, and have been appreciated by individuals,” Koyama explains.

“The exhibition is fully from the Edo-Tokyo Museum’s assortment,” mentioned Koyama.
| Yoko Akiyoshi

On the opposite hand, they have been additionally a nuisance: There is a narrative that mice ate up all of the rice in a home, resulting in the downfall of that household. “Animals should not simply cute. Their relationship with people is a bit more sophisticated than that. They are cute, however generally in addition they trigger bother. You should settle for that to ensure that issues to go easily.”

Why did individuals confer with cats with ‘-san’?

Cats have been additionally widespread, however they have been “extra than simply cute creatures,” Koyama says. “There are many legends of bakeneko (monster cats) in Japan. Even way back, individuals should have felt that cats should not solely cute however mystical, too. They have been additionally considerably revered, as there’s some folklore together with cats that might perceive human language. I imagine they have been referred to with ‘-san’ for these causes.”

“One Hundred Famous Views of Edo: Procession for the Tori-no-ichi Festival, Asakusa-tanbo” (1857) by Utagawa Hiroshige, a well-liked work on the exhibition portraying a cat searching by means of a window.
| Courtesy of Edo-Tokyo Museum

We can even deduce that cats have been particular from the approach used to depict them. “In ukiyo-e, cats are portrayed with a printing approach that makes them appear three-dimensional. If you have a look at the prints in particular person, you possibly can see how fluffy they seem.”

You could marvel, “What about canines?”

“In Edo (the town, now Tokyo), there weren’t many individuals who stored canines as a private pet. There have been so-called machi-inu (city canines), that have been taken care of by your complete city. They served as guard canines for the city, performed with the youngsters and have been fed by the townspeople. Ukiyo-e from the Edo Period usually embody machi-inu.”

“Funabashiya Confectionery in Sagacho, Fukagawa” (1839-1841) by Utagawa Kuniyoshi, portraying canines that have been a part of the group
| Courtesy of Edo-Tokyo Museum

Works from the Edo Period additionally embody varied wild animals comparable to deer, cranes, storks, and Japanese river otters. “There is a report that the third shogun, Tokugawa Iemitsu, hunted as many as 2,135 deer in a 12 months and a half. Although the Japanese river otter just isn’t in work, the 1824 ebook ‘Buko Sanbutsu Shi’ (List of Animals and Plants Found in and Near Edo) says that the now-extinct animal was residing on the Genmori Bridge. This is a bridge referred to as a photograph spot for Tokyo Skytree in Sumida City. Two hundred years in the past, Japanese river otters swam below that bridge. Isn’t it attention-grabbing?”

French individuals’s impressions of the exhibition

This exhibition is an enlargement of the exhibition held on the Japan Cultural Institute in Paris in 2022, titled “Un bestiaire japonais — Vivre avec les animaux à Edo-Tokyo (XVIIIe-XIXesiècle)” (A Japanese Bestiary — Living with Animals in Edo-Tokyo During the 18th-Nineteenth Centuries). What was the response in France?

“One of the issues that attracted consideration was a discover board associated to the Edicts on Compassion for Living Things issued in the course of the reign of the fifth shogun, Tokugawa Tsunayoshi. It states that anybody who abandons a sick horse that’s not anticipated to get well will probably be punished by dying.

“Quail Meeting” (late Edo Period) by an unknown artist, portraying one of many quail singing contests that grew to become widespread because the variety of followers elevated beginning within the early Edo Period
| Courtesy of Edo-Tokyo Museum

In Europe, animal welfare has change into extensively established solely in recent times, however they have been stunned and mentioned that they’d by no means heard of somebody like a shogun giving such an order in that period,” Koyama mentioned. This echoes the expertise of Morse, who was stunned by the amicable relationship between Japanese individuals and animals.

French individuals additionally had an attention-grabbing tackle the standing system in the course of the Edo Period. “They have been stunned by a bit that portrays a quail singing contest as a result of chicken house owners have been all sitting collectively no matter standing, with no separation between samurai with katana and retailers. It was attention-grabbing for the French to see the equal relationship between individuals when it got here to leisure.”

Rare animal reveals grew to become widespread

The exhibition consists of many work that painting reveals of uncommon animals comparable to elephants, camels, tigers and leopards. “The Edo Period noticed a speedy urbanization. By the 18th century, Edo had change into a metropolis with a inhabitants of over a million, and the sphere of leisure was nicely developed.

Although Japan was remoted at the moment, many animals have been introduced in from abroad and have been proven at present huts within the leisure district close to Ryogoku (in japanese Tokyo). You can see how excited individuals have been, with some wanting up on the elephant a lot that their necks would snap. I hope guests will glean the joy of the individuals from that point from the print.”

“Newly Imported Large Elephant from Central India” (1863) by Ryoko, portraying a feminine elephant imported by means of Yokohama
| Courtesy of Edo-Tokyo Museum

Koyama, who has curated many ukiyo-e exhibitions, concluded the interview by describing the attraction of Tokyo: “During the transition from the Edo Period to the Meiji Era, the town was not destroyed, and now traces of the Edo Period stay throughout Tokyo. These embody the names of roads and bridges, in addition to parks and colleges with echoes of daimyo (feudal lords) residences. I feel Tokyo is a really wealthy metropolis in that it has cutting-edge issues, but in addition permits us to suppose again to the Edo Period.”

The exhibition “Animals, Animals, Animals! From the Edo-Tokyo Museum Collection” will tour in Aichi and Toyama Prefectures in 2025.

Translation by Toshio Endo