Celebrating the City
Depictions of Famous Places in Japan
October 2 - December 20, 1992
Introduction
In Japan, the notion of meisho, or famous place, predates woodblock prints and extends back to classical poetry, in which well-known beauty spots and landscapes were celebrated in verse. In the popular culture of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Japan, the notion of meisho was extended to familiar attractions in the capital city, Edo (Tokyo), and beyond. The exhibition focuses on depictions of a number of meisho in Edo and other cities.