Empowerment
Clad in Victorian-inspired clothing, a third-generation Japanese American (sansei) woman dominates this painting. Four men in dynamic poses surround her, three of them wearing kumadori makeup indicating their status as kabuki actors. The artist, who is himself a sansei, confronts racist stereotypes with references to Japanese cultural heritage and Euro-American fashioning and empire. How can we feel empowered to claim our own identities?
Additional label content:
In this painting artist Roger Shimomura references Japanese print traditions, raising questions about heritage and cultural appropriation. The various figures evoke the style and content of ukiyo-e, prints that depict famous beautiful women, kabuki actors, sumo wrestlers, and other celebrities of 17th- to 19th-century Edo (modern-day Tokyo). Shimomura also questions the use of such Japanese prints by Western artists to develop modern art forms in the late 19th and early 20th century. Further problematizing issues of “foreignness,” Shimomura also alludes to the late Edo-period trend of Yokohama-e, or prints that depict foreigners in Japan.
Empowerment
Clad in Victorian-inspired clothing, a third-generation Japanese American (sansei) woman dominates this painting. Four men in dynamic poses surround her, three of them wearing kumadori makeup indicating their status as kabuki actors. The artist, who is himself a sansei, confronts racist stereotypes with references to Japanese cultural heritage and Euro-American fashioning and empire. How can we feel empowered to claim our own identities?
Additional label content:
In this painting artist Roger Shimomura references Japanese print traditions, raising questions about heritage and cultural appropriation. The various figures evoke the style and content of ukiyo-e, prints that depict famous beautiful women, kabuki actors, sumo wrestlers, and other celebrities of 17th- to 19th-century Edo (modern-day Tokyo). Shimomura also questions the use of such Japanese prints by Western artists to develop modern art forms in the late 19th and early 20th century. Further problematizing issues of “foreignness,” Shimomura also alludes to the late Edo-period trend of Yokohama-e, or prints that depict foreigners in Japan.
Staging Shimomura
Sansei Woman depicts a third-generation Japanese American woman wearing Victorian-inspired clothing and holding an umbrella. Surrounding her are four men in dynamic poses, three of whom wear kumadori makeup, indicating their status as Kabuki actors. The figures evoke the style and content of ukiyo-e,
prints that depict famous beautiful women, Kabuki actors, sumo wrestlers, and other celebrities of Edo (modern-day Tokyo). In her Western clothing, the central figure stands out from the others, evoking the kind of cultural interchange seen in the short-lived, late Edo-period trend of Yokohama-e, or prints that depict foreigners. The crowded composition creates tension as the Sansei woman is at once enclosed by representations of Japanese culture but also detached from the perceptions of Japaneseness by which others may define her
Staging Shimomura
Sansei Woman depicts a third-generation Japanese American woman wearing Victorian-inspired clothing and holding an umbrella. Surrounding her are four men in dynamic poses, three of whom wear kumadori makeup, indicating their status as Kabuki actors. The figures evoke the style and content of ukiyo-e,
prints that depict famous beautiful women, Kabuki actors, sumo wrestlers, and other celebrities of Edo (modern-day Tokyo). In her Western clothing, the central figure stands out from the others, evoking the kind of cultural interchange seen in the short-lived, late Edo-period trend of Yokohama-e, or prints that depict foreigners. The crowded composition creates tension as the Sansei woman is at once enclosed by representations of Japanese culture but also detached from the perceptions of Japaneseness by which others may define her
Power Clashing: Clothing, Collage, and Contemporary Identities
In Shimomura’s Sansei Woman, Japanese samurai crowd behind a central female figure. The checkered collar and cuffs of her pseudo-Victorian dress offset the brightly colored patterns evident in the garments that surround her. Shimomura explores personal and ethnic identity through such a mixing of Japanese and American imagery. The artist, who is himself a sansei, or thirdgeneration Japanese American, confronts viewers’ expectations to see imagery linked to his Japanese heritage. The combination of Japanese ukiyo-e imagery with the woman’s anachronistic dress suggests their equally foreign influence on Shimomura’s artistic practice and everyday life.
Power Clashing: Clothing, Collage, and Contemporary Identities
In Shimomura’s Sansei Woman, Japanese samurai crowd behind a central female figure. The checkered collar and cuffs of her pseudo-Victorian dress offset the brightly colored patterns evident in the garments that surround her. Shimomura explores personal and ethnic identity through such a mixing of Japanese and American imagery. The artist, who is himself a sansei, or thirdgeneration Japanese American, confronts viewers’ expectations to see imagery linked to his Japanese heritage. The combination of Japanese ukiyo-e imagery with the woman’s anachronistic dress suggests their equally foreign influence on Shimomura’s artistic practice and everyday life.
