Exhibition Talk: From Edo to Meiji: the Case of Shibata Zeshin April 9, 2008

In recent years, institutional, social and art historians have increasingly stressed the continuities that exist between the closing decades of the Edo period and the beginning of the Meiji era. This analysis, which contrasts strongly with earlier, "sudden break," readings of 19th-century Japan, is confirmed by the career of Shibata Zeshin, who developed most of his technical innovations some 20 years before the Meiji Restoration. This panel discussion brings together James L. McClain, Professor and Chair of History at Brown University and Thomas. J. Rimer, Professor Emeritus of Japanese Literature, Theatre, and Art, University of Pittsburgh, for an in-depth look at a key moment in Japanese history. Joe Earle, Director, Japan Society Gallery will moderate.