Page 154 - Changing Living Spaces

Miyuki Takahashi

Figure 7
Aguranabe (Kanagaki
1871–1872, 6–7)

Yoshimune Tokugawa (1684–1751), the eighth shogun of the Tokugawa
shogunate, was interested in horse breeding and therefore not only im-
ported Western horses (Persian horses, figure 6), but also invited the
horseman Hans Jurgen Keiserling from the Netherlands to train the
horses in Western horsemanship. Keiserling first demonstrated his horse-
manship at the Edo Palace a year after his arrival in Japan in Kyōho 10
(1725). He occasionally came to Japan to teach horsemanship and knowl-
edge to Matazaemon Tomita and other umayaku (horse trainers in samu-
rai households) officials.2 However, it was not until after the Meiji period
(1868–1912) that horse breeding was practised at full scale and Western
horses became mainstream.
With developments in horse breeding and changes in agricultur-
al practices, including the shift to dry rice fields, horses became widely
used in agriculture in the Meiji period. In addition, the relationship be-
tween horses and people changed in the Meiji period with the introduc-
tion of European and American culture and technologies. Such trends
are depicted in the 1871–72 satire Aguranabe by Robun Kanagaki (fig-
ure 7). Wealthy-looking cattle are depicted in Western clothing. In the
Meiji period, they gradually gained a kind of respect among people. Until
then, cattle had been used mainly for carrying loads, but now they were
brought to the dinner table as gyū-nabe (a dish of beef cooked in a hot pot
at the table). The horse is drawn as a rickshaw man. Given the narrow
and hilly roads in Japan, horses were not used to pull vehicles. However,

2 NAJ, Norikata-kikigaki.

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