4. Margarita Winkel, "The Image of Japan in the West" and "Souvenir Photography" from Souvenirs from Japan: Japanese Photography at the turn of the century (London:

Bamboo Publishing Ltd, 1991) 17-20, 27-32

The discovery by Felix Bracquemond in 1856 of a volume of sketches done by Katsushika Hokusai stimulated the European interest in the Japanese art world. Th e appeal to the westerners was its exoticness and advanced social structure (lacking European touch). In "The Image of Japan in the West", Winkel focuses on Europe's fascination with the Japanese culture. It seems Europeans wound up on extreme ends of a spectrum. They were either tourists, effecting the visiting country in a way they did not understand (by purchasing souvenirs they believed to be "Japanese" and stimulating certain markets as well as bringing their customary European dress) or became more Japanese then the Japanese themselves. Two examples of those who venerated the culture were Lafcadio Hearn and Ernest Fenollosa. The primary focus of the article is photography, mainly the souvenirs westerners bought. They bought albums of staged pictures with scenic views and over-dramatised scenes of beautiful girls in lavish kimonos. The tourist industry spurred on Japanese photographers allowing them to adapt their dying skill from wood block prints to this more profitable area.

This is a very interesting article aimed at the academic but not scholar. It is unfortunate that sentences in describing Europeans flux to Japan and their influence on Japan, such as, "a life which their very presence Westerners helped destroy," are interjected. No matter how true, statements like these take away from the credibility of the article. Aimed at those sympathetic and nostalgic, the article does give valuable information on the roots of photography and the effects on Japan.

Jan Greenfield