周延 Chikanobu

楊州周延
扶桑高貴鑑
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Artist: Yoshu Chikanobu(1838-1912)
Title: 𝐹𝑢𝑠𝑜 𝑘𝑜𝑘𝑖𝑘𝑎𝑛
(A Mirror of Japan’s Nobility)
Published: 1887(Meiji)
Size: 37.3×24.8cm (each sheet)

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This portrait depicts Emperor Meiji and Empress Shōken with their son, Crown Prince Yoshihito (later Emperor Taishō).
The Western-style clothing and furnishings symbolize the imperial family’s modernization and embrace of Western culture. 
In contrast, traditional auspicious motifs such as pine, plum, and bamboo trees, cranes, and a dragon-patterned vase
highlight Japan’s cultural heritage.
Such family portraits served as propaganda, presenting the imperial family as both dignified and aligned with Japan’s identity as a modern nation-state. 
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The same prints are at the
Metropolitan museum in New York.
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