Source
This is a picture of the Dutch having a dinner party with the Japanese during the early 1800s. The reason why I choose this one was how the Dutch were portrayed. All the Dutch men are eating down and eating while the Japanese (only three) are standing up and attending to the men.
Let's start with the outside the room, beyond the focus point of the dinner. The boats outside are the same big black ship that the foreigners used. The Japanese at that time did not use giants ships, but rather small-sized boats. For example, if you look closely over the green railing corner, on the right-hand side, there appears to be a small, yet simple light tan (fishing?) boat. This is, judging by the minimalist design of the boat, belongs to the Japanese.
Now, let's move on to the actual room, shall we? Here we see seven Dutch men sitting at a table eating a meal that is including a meat of some sort, chicken, something to drink, possibly rice, and what seems to be liquor. Notice how they are helping themselves to their own food and drinks. In Japan, for those of you who do not know, it's impolite/rude to pour your own drink. (Yes, they might not know that and just being themselves/following their own cultural customs, but I found this interesting.) The two Japanese women are standing behind the men serving them possibly more food, while the tanned male across the room is bringing more to the guests. And last but not least is the neko-chan (or cat). Because there is a cat laying down in the room with everyone else present, this makes me believe that this was taking place in a home (since Cat Cafes weren't invented back then).
You really have a good analysis and I liked the Cat Cafe part! You know the Japanese traditional culture and the culture we have now. In this picture it seems that the western culture and eastern culture is mixed up because the clothes they wear and the way they eat.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kaho~ ^_^ The mix of the cultures (though I forgot to mention it above) is one of the reasons why I chose this picture. It was like the two different worlds coming together in one room and how they were to react to it. (As always, the Europeans are being lazy, while the Japanese are hard at work~ :p)
DeleteThis is a good analysis of the differences in culture of the Japanese and Dutch. I agree with your point on different western and eastern customs of eating and drinking.
ReplyDeleteJennifer,
DeleteThank you for nice the comment. :) I just found it interesting on how these two cultures were together but stayed true to their own customs rather than taking on the other's custom, which we would attempt to do today.
I thought you analysis about the Dutch and their standards of living in Japan was very interesting. What do you think changed when more westerners come to Japan in the latter years? I thought you did a really good job, and I really liked your title.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the kind words, Jackson. :) I think in the latter years, perhaps the westerners took notice of the manners of the Japanese people and applied them while visiting Japan. To be respectful to cultures (in particular Japan in this example) other than their own. Hopefully that is what happened.
DeleteKelly, an interesting analysis. I have some further thoughts. First, it totally freaks me out that the table and chairs are on tatami mats! Not only is this a sacrilege of sorts, but it will also totally destroy the tatami. Although the party may be taking place in a home, to me it's more likely in a public establishment (inn or restaurant) because of the scale. Cats were commonly found in commercial establishments (and not just "maneki-neko!). Finally, the man could very well be Chinese, given his outfit. All in all, a fascinating image, and a good job.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Also notice the Western-style painting on the wall.