Watanabe Yuko, who became one of the pioneering female Western-style painters of the Meiji Era (1868–1912), exhibited this work at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893. Depicted is a strong baby who catches a dragonfly while dragging a stone mill. This is said to represent an episode from the life of Fukushima Masanori, a military commander who served under Toyotomi Hideyoshi and was known for his great physical strength. Perhaps the intention was to impress upon the Expo’s international audience the emergence of a “powerful Japan” among the ranks of modern nations after the Meiji Restoration? On the other hand, for those viewers unaware of such context, the universality of the baby motif would surely have won the painting a positive reception. What is certain is Watanabe’s international perspective, likely nurtured during her time studying painting at the newly opened port of Yokohama.
(UCHIYAMA Junko)
Watanabe Yuko, who became one of the pioneering female Western-style painters of the Meiji Era (1868–1912), exhibited this work at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893. Depicted is a strong baby who catches a dragonfly while dragging a stone mill. This is said to represent an episode from the life of Fukushima Masanori, a military commander who served under Toyotomi Hideyoshi and was known for his great physical strength. Perhaps the intention was to impress upon the Expo’s international audience the emergence of a “powerful Japan” among the ranks of modern nations after the Meiji Restoration? On the other hand, for those viewers unaware of such context, the universality of the baby motif would surely have won the painting a positive reception. What is certain is Watanabe’s international perspective, likely nurtured during her time studying painting at the newly opened port of Yokohama.
(UCHIYAMA Junko)