Designing Modern Japan

The design disciplines that Teasley addresses in her book—such as graphic and product design—took root in the wake of the Meiji-era (1868–1912), when social, political, and economic transformations upended local cottage industries and prompted the makers of luxury and craft goods to consider how to apply existing design and production practices to make new types of objects for new markets, both at home and overseas. The Arita vases displayed at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition of 1876, for example, exemplified high technical skill while also promoting a particular image of “Japan” that responded to Western tastes. Artisans across various industries, from ceramics to textiles to lacquerware, began to shift their attention to Western markets and expand their product lines (to include such things as lacquered hairbrushes and glove boxes), developing new patterns, motifs, and color palettes and experimenting with new production techniques and technologies.