POLITICAL AND RITUAL USAGES OF PORTRAITS OF JAPANESE EMPERORS IN EIGHTEENTH AND NINETEENTH CENTURIES by Yuki Morishima B.A., University of Washington, 1996 B.F.A., University of Washington, 1996 M.S., Boston University, 1999 M.A., University of Pittsburgh, 2007 Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Pittsburgh 2013 UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH DIETRICH SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES This dissertation was presented by Yuki Morishima It was defended on November 13, 2013 and approved by Katheryn Linduff, Professor, Art and Architecture Evelyn Rawski, Professor, History Kirk Savage, Professor, Art and Architecture Dissertation Advisor: Karen Gerhart, Professor, Art and Architecture ii Copyright © by Yuki Morishima 2013 iii POLITICAL AND RITUAL USAGES OF PORTRAITS OF JAPANESE EMPERORS IN EIGHTEENTH AND NINETEENTH CENTURIES Yuki Morishima, PhD University of Pittsburgh, 2013 This dissertation examines portraits of Japanese emperors from the pre-modern Edo period (1603-1868) through the modern Meiji period (1868-1912) by questioning how the socio- political context influenced the production of imperial portraits. Prior to Western influence, pre- modern Japanese society viewed imperial portraits as religious objects for private, commemorative use; only imperial family members and close supporters viewed these portraits. The Confucian notion of filial piety and the Buddhist tradition of tsuizen influenced the production of these commemorative or mortuary portraits. By the Meiji period, however, Western portrait practice had affected how Japan perceived its imperial portraiture. Because the Meiji government socially and politically constructed the ideal role of Emperor Meiji and used the portrait as a means of propaganda to elevate the emperor to the status of a divinity, it instituted controlled public viewing of the images of Japanese emperors. Such differences between the private and public functions of imperial portraits suggest that imperial portraits from the pre-modern and post-Meiji periods developed for different purposes, moving from a religious, commemorative purpose to a more secular, political one. By examining the psychological responses to the representations of Japanese emperors through primary documents, iv including official documents, diaries, and letters, I show that images exerted an emotive force on viewers. I also address the following questions: 1) What makes the portrait more than an image? 2) What gives that image meaning? 3) And how can a portrait become the focus of devotion? Imperial portraits, whether used for religious or political reasons, maintain a spiritual connection to reality and illustrate the power of representation. I conclude that this research on portraits of Japanese emperors will help scholars understand how the power of representations did affect changes in behavioral patterns from the Edo to the Meiji periods. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .......................................................................................................... XI 1.0 INTRODUCTION .........................................................................................................1 1.1 DEFINITIONS OF PROBLEMATIC ENGLISH TERMS ..............................3 1.2 POWER OF IMAGES .........................................................................................8 1.2.1 Spiritual Power in Japanese Portraits .......................................................10 1.2.2 Spiritual Power in Japanese Portrait Sculptures ......................................17 1.3 STATE OF THE FIELD OF JAPANESE IMPERIAL PORTRAITURE ....21 1.3.1 State of the Field of Japanese Imperial Portraiture: Previous Publications on Pre-modern Imperial Portraits ......................................................25 1.3.2 State of the Field of Japanese Imperial Portraiture: Previous Publications on Modern Imperial Portraits .............................................................31 1.4 ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTION TO THE FIELD ...........................................35 1.5 METHODOLOGY .............................................................................................36 1.6 OUTLINE OF CHAPTERS: CHAPTERS TWO – FIVE ..............................38 1.6.1 Chapter Two: Commemorative Portraits of Japanese Emperors at Sennyūji Temple: Their Ritual and Political Functions in the Edo Period ...........38 1.6.2 Chapter Three: Unofficial Images of Emperor Meiji ...............................39 1.6.3 Chapter Four: Goshin’ei: Official Portraits of Emperor Meiji ...............40 vi 1.6.4 Chapter Five: Epilogue................................................................................41 2.0 COMMEMORATIVE PORTRAITS OF JAPANESE EMPERORS AT SENNYŪJI TEMPLE: THEIR RITUAL AND POLITICAL FUNCTIONS IN THE EDO PERIOD (1603-1868) ...................................................................................................................42 2.1 VISUAL ANALYSIS OF THE PORTRAITS OF EMPERORS AT SENNYŪJI ...........................................................................................................................44 2.2 CHALLENGES ASSOCIATED WITH THE PORTRAIT COLLECTION AT SENNYŪJI ....................................................................................................................46 2.3 HISTORY OF SENNYŪJI ................................................................................48 2.4 PORTRAITS AS COMMEMORATIVE RITUAL OBJECTS .....................62 2.5 COMMEMORATION OF THE LATE EMPERORS ....................................65 2.6 COMMEMORATIVE PORTRAITS OF EMPERORS AT SENNYŪJI ......67 2.6.1 REVERSE RITE (GYAKUSHU 逆修) ......................................................76 2.7 INACCESSIBILITY OF IMEPRIAL PORTRAITS ......................................79 2.8 PORTRAIT AS AN ALTARPIECE .................................................................83 2.8.1 State of the Imperial Tombs in the Nineteenth Century ..........................84 2.8.2 Transformations of the Imperial Tombs ...................................................86 2.9 VISUAL REPRESENTATION OF LINEAGE ...............................................87 2.10 LEGITIMIZING SENNYŪJI’S STATUS AS AN IMPERIAL TEMPLE ...90 2.11 PORTRAITS OF EMPRESSES MEISHŌ AND GOSAKURAMACHI ......94 2.11.1 Accessions of Empresses Meishō and Gosakuramachi.............................96 2.11.2 Inclusion of Emperor Yōkō .......................................................................103 2.12 CONCLUSION .................................................................................................104 vii 3.0 UNOFFICIAL IMAGES OF EMPEROR MEIJI ..................................................105 3.1 REVIVAL OF JAPANESE EMPERORSHIP ...............................................106 3.2 PROCEDURE OF REVIVAL ........................................................................109 3.3 THE FIRST STAGE: UNREPRESENTED EMPEROR MEIJI IN THE EARLY PROCESSION PRINTS ....................................................................................113 3.4 NISHIKI-E WOODBLOCK PRINTS .............................................................117 3.5 SIGNIFICANCES OF THE IMPERIAL PROCESSIONS ..........................120 3.5.1 Idealized and Unidealized Responses to the Processions .......................124 3.5.2 The End of Emperor Meiji’s Processions ................................................130 3.6 THE SECOND STAGE: IMAGES OF EMPEROR MEIJI AS A HUMAN BEING ............................................................................................................................131 3.6.1 Significance of Westernized Attire ...........................................................134 3.6.2 Images of the Imperial Couple ..................................................................137 3.6.3 Imperial Marriage Practice ......................................................................142 3.7 SECOND STAGE: LITHOGRAPHIC GROUP PORTRAITURE .............145 3.7.1 Lithographic Images of Emperor Meiji with His Political Allies ..............146 3.7.2 Lithographic Images of Emperor Meiji with His Family.......................148 3.8 REASONS THAT MADE IT POSSIBLE TO DEPICT THE EMPEROR 150 3.9 THE GOVERNMENTAL BAN ON IMPERIAL PRINTS ..........................157 3.10 CONCLUSION .................................................................................................158 4.0 GOSHIN’EI: OFFICIAL PORTRAITS OF EMPEROR MEIJI .........................160 4.1 THE TERM “GOSHIN’EI” .............................................................................161 4.2 CONSTRUCTION OF THE IDEAL IMAGE ...............................................162 viii 4.2.1 The First Portraits in 1872 ........................................................................163 4.2.2 The Second Portraits in 1873 ....................................................................167 4.2.3 Traditional Versus Western Attire...........................................................170 4.2.4 The Third Portrait in 1888 ........................................................................173 4.2.5 Portrait of Empress Consort Haruko ......................................................176 4.3 RESTRICTION OF CIRCULATION ............................................................181 4.3.1 Institutionalized Distribution Process ......................................................183 4.3.2 The Official and Unofficial Copies of Portraits