Source 19.3: The Debate: A Sumo Wrestler and a Foreigner
The debate about Japan’s response to Perry’s demands not only engaged political and intellectual elites, but found expression as well in the popular media of woodblock prints. In 1861, such a print showed a Japanese sumo wrestler tossing a boastful French competitor. The inscription reads: “Hershan, wrestler without peer, comes from Calais in France, a part of Europe. He has traveled to the countries of the world, and nowhere has he been defeated. He is very boastful and came to our country to Yokohama and asked for a match. To the glory of Japan, a Japanese sumo wrestler threw him to the ground.”2
Questions to consider as you examine the source:
- Why might this image carry considerable appeal in the middle of a national debate about how to deal with the intrusive foreigners?
- In what ways could it be seen as a visual depiction of Tokugawa Nariaki’s point of view?
- What does the inscription add to your understanding of the image?
A Sumo Wrestler and a Foreigner
A Sumo Wrestler and a ForeignerYoshiku Utagawa (1833–
Notes
- M. William Steele, Alternative Narratives in Modern Japanese History (London: Routledge, 2003), 29.