Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Massachusetts Institute of Technology © 2008 Visualizing Cultures |
“Picture of a Procession of Foreigners at Yokohama” by Yoshikazu, 1861:2
After a disastrous fire in 1866, the city reemerged from the ashes as a more comfortable and orderly town.
This 1870 print depicts the mercantile establishments along Nakadori, a broad avenue that was among the civic improvements following the great fire.
Jardine Matheson & Company, a British firm still in operation today, arrived immediately as the city opened in 1859 to claim a large and favorably located address.
Lot number one on the Bund was adjacent to the customhouse on the Yokohama waterfront.
Before the great fire of 1866, Jardine Matheson’s compound had one of the few two-story buildings.
It can be seen in the left panel behind the Japanese passersby who gaze at the American parade.
