Popular Japonisme in the United States

Exports of furniture, ceramics, fans, and prints arrived in the United States and Europe following the reopening of Japan to Western trade in 1854. The craze for Japanese design and aesthetics in France and England that began in the 1860s and 1870s is known by the French term Japonisme, and the influence of Japanese aesthetics on European art and design has been extensively studied. However, there is far less scholarship about Japonisme within the United States, even though Japanese ports were reopened by an American military expedition. I argue that the peak of Japonisme in the American decorative arts occurred from 1880 to approximately 1900. I begin by pinpointing when Japanese manufactures were first exported to the US, what those exports included, and who bought or encountered them. I then use news articles and advertisements published in historical periodicals to determine when specific types of exports, such as porcelain, lacquer ware, fans, or wallpaper, first arrived and were publicly displayed in the US. These periodicals also provide insight into the work of well-known figures who drew inspiration from Japanese styles, such as Louis C. Tiffany and Candace Wheeler. From the export data and periodicals, I build the first chronological timeline of when specific types of Japanese manufactures became available for the American public—not just wealthy collectors—to view and purchase.