Christopher Dresser (1834-1904) and Meiji Japan: A Transcultural Approach to Perceived Nationalized Aesthetics in Material Culture

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I wish to pursue a transcultural research approach to the exchange of perceivednationalized aesthetics in material culture, focusing on textiles, between Japan andGreat Britain and to what extent Meiji Era (1868-1912) textiles were altered to suitwestern taste. What do extant textiles confirm about the exchange and interpretation ofmanufacture and design practices between Japan and Great Britain? To explore thisquestion, I wish to offer a new decolonial approach to Christopher Dresser's crosscultural exchange trip to Japan in 1876 on behalf of the Victoria & Albert Museum andsubsequent textile design and writing. I aim to achieve this through theoretical, archivaland collection-based research drawing from Japanese art history theory as opposed toAesthetic movement scholarship. Dresser's trip in 1876/77 served many purposes: tobring a curated collection of European decorative arts to the Tokyo National Museum, toimpart the 'European aesthetic' and modern industrial techniques to Japanesemanufacturers to aid in successfully increasing their export market, and to add to hisown business venture Londos & Co.'s and Tiffany & Co.'s Japanese collections. Myresearch project would be divided into three sections: an analysis of textiles Dresserpurchased on his trip to Japan; the Anglo-Japanese textiles designed by Dresser beforeand after his trip to Japan; and an examination of Meiji textiles produced in the Nishijintextile district in Kyoto before and after Dresser's visit.