Page 173 - Edo: Art in Japan, 1615–1868

fig. 7
Wrapping cloth
tuith design of Rice Cultiuation
in the Four Seasons,
nineteenth century,
multicolored silk and gold
metallic thread
embroidery on silk satin;
red silk crepe lining,
7
91.4 x 73.3 (36Vs x 28 /8),
Los Angeles County
Museum of Art,
Costume Council Fund

17 2

emblems could serve as a powerful amulet for the firemen and transform the wearers into pictorial
symbols of strength and style.
Whereas early Edo-period scenes of work in art had represented the interest of samurai
patrons — exhibiting details of working life as a curiosity, a Confucian theme, or an aspect of place or
season — social developments during the era forced a change. By the mid-nineteenth century the
culture of the townspeople had become an arena for experimentation and innovation. By contrast,
samurai, like Watanabe Kazan, who too strongly advocated change were silenced. Pictures and costumes
on the work theme became more personal, more often based on direct observation or experience after
the status of workers changed and a greater percentage of patronage came from the working classes.