17th century Japan as seen through Western Eyes

[Saionji Shonagon]

Engravings from Arnoldus Montanus' 1670 edition of 'Denckwürdige Gesandtschafften der Ost-Indischen Geselschaft in den Vereingten Niederländern an unterschiedliche Keyser von Japan'.
bibliodyssey.blogspot.com/2009/01/conjuring-17th-century-japan.html

[Water_Tengu]

I agree with some of the commentors, the first few pictures are baffling.

[Saionji Shonagon]

Have you ever tried drawing a picture of something you've never seen before based on a written or verbal description?

Have you ever read a novel, then been completely surprised by who gets cast as the character in the movie version because you envisioned someone completely different than the director did?

Remember, in 1670, a relatively limited number of Europeans had actually been to Japan and back. Those engravings were obviously the work of someone going on someone else's descriptions.

[Water_Tengu]

oh, he was painting these in Europe, i thought that the article said that this man had been to japan and was painting statues he saw there.

[Saionji Shonagon]

The text is by Montanus, who had served in Japan. However, the illustrations would've been commissioned by the printer in Europe.

[roninpenguin]

It really goes to show how much our own lives color the way that we see things that we don't have first hand knowledge of. You can see where the artist took license with the areas that were not described in the text and added in things that he expected would have only been "Natural" to be there.

That really brings perspective to, well, perspective. ;D