Children of the Meiji Era

At the beginning of the Meiji era (1868-1912), when, under the influence of the West, the Japan is implementing school education, we see appearing in the traditional prints, schoolchildren dressed in western style, playing or study, representing an ideal child. These prints are reflections of a new era and a society transformed by modernization. They use English words or illustrate the lives of famous Westerners thus serving as educational material intended to educate girls and boys who aim to succeed in life by opening up to the world There still remains a scent of the Edo period (1603-1868) in the alleys of Japanese cities and from the middle of the Meiji era, and we find in these prints a certain nostalgia for that bygone era, with children dressed in delightful Kimonos with old-world charm. Miyagawa Shuntei, Yamamoto Shôun and others masters of printmaking born during the Meiji era found some success with their meticulous representations of children perpetuating fashionable games the Edo period. The old toy prints (omocha-e) also continue to be produced and are still as popular with children. Bringing together prints and books from the Kumon Institute of Education and the Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts, this work accompanies an exhibition which takes a look unpublished on the representations of children having fun and studying at a time when The wind of modernity is blowing, even if not all traces of Edo have been erased. It brings together more than 150 prints representing children, and others intended for children: educational prints, toy prints or even story prints. This is an unpublished and original illustration of the period Meiji, which interested the Western world so much.