“Visual World” is spongy shorthand for the physical, representational, and conceptual space of the Edo period. It can conjure the imagery of painting, prints, cartography and other texts. It can conjure urban planning and cityscapes, architecture and infrastructure, and the “look” of the built landscape (from the scale of construction to the universe of night). It can conjure interiors and clothing.

Sponsored by:

The Center for Japanese Studies
University of California, Berkeley

Image: Edo-zu byōbu, in the collection of the Kokuritsu Rekishi Minzoku Hakubutsukan, the National Museum of Japanese History.