{"id":55936,"date":"2020-11-10T04:00:46","date_gmt":"2020-11-10T12:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/creativemarket.com\/blog\/?p=55936"},"modified":"2024-04-22T01:05:02","modified_gmt":"2024-04-22T08:05:02","slug":"japonisme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/creativemarket.com\/blog\/japonisme","title":{"rendered":"Japonisme: A Fascination With Japanese Artwork"},"content":{"rendered":"

Japonisme is an 1872 term coined by the French to indicate the sudden popularity of Japanese<\/a> decorative art and design in Western Europe in the 19th<\/sup> century. This occurred after Japan’s Bakumatsu—or the end of the country’s Edo feudal military government—when Japan resumed trade with the rest of the world in 1858.
\nAfter more than 200 years of an isolationist foreign policy, Japan’s artworks were barely seen in most of Europe until the late 19th<\/sup> century. When they started being imported into various European countries at this time, their exotic illustrations and bold designs captured the imagination of many Westerners. Not only were they popular among consumers, but they also influenced many Western artists with their unique techniques.
\nThis surge of eastern style left a lasting impression on the French<\/a> and the West in general.

<\/span>The History of Japonisme<\/span><\/h2>

This phenomenon was the result of Japan<\/a> being closed off to the West for centuries. When the political situation in the country was finally reformed, and trade with the outside world wasn’t shunned anymore, Japan began exporting more and more of its decorative arts. Consequently, people in the West started to realize what their eyes and design sensibilities had been missing for hundreds of years.
\nAfter all, as the old saying goes, absence makes the heart grow fonder.
\nIn the case of Western Europe, the dearth of eastern products and influences only increased their value when they were finally reintroduced by the late 19th<\/sup> century.<\/p>

To understand the cultural impact and context of Japonisme, we have to look at its underlying cause: the Edo period, which lasted from 1639 to 1858. The Edo period was governed by the Tokugawa shogunate, which imposed severe isolationist policies. As a result, Japan was in seclusion, with only one of its international ports actually open to trade. During this time, it was the Dutch, also the originators of the Delft Blue pottery design trend<\/a>, who were lucky enough to trade with Japan. Technically, this still allowed for a very small number of Asian artworks to be imported back to Europe, but the effects of the Japanese style were minimal.
\nAnother interesting aspect of this period of seclusion in Japanese history was the acute awareness the Japanese had about how popular their designs were, at least among wealthy Europeans like the monarchy. In the 17th<\/sup> century, the Japanese started manufacturing their own porcelain, particularly for export in trade with the Dutch.
\nBy the time of Japan’s reopening, the demand for their eastern aesthetic was at a fever pitch in continental Europe, from the steady—though rare—drip of Japanese exports reaching the Netherlands. Therefore, the stage had now been set for Japonisme—an excited fascination with and imitation of everything eastern—to take root in Europe.
\nAfter 1868, the Meiji Restoration, which returned imperial governance to the country under Emperor Meiji, ensured that the Land of the Rising Sun was now fully open for trade with the West.
\nIn the late 19th<\/sup> century, more and more Asian artworks began appearing in curiosity shops in big European cities like Paris<\/a> and London, much to the delight of everyday Europeans.
\nAs a parallel to this early excitement 19th<\/sup>-century Europeans felt back in the day, have a look at some Japanese-inspired digital assets:<\/p>

This design trend first began in earnest as Westerners developed a fondness for collecting Japanese designs, like those found in ukiyo-e. Ukiyo-e is itself a design movement that centered on paintings and woodblock prints depicting staples of Japanese life, such as:<\/p>