Detailed View
Dancers
 

Here we see two sailors in a rather tipsy state dancing along the beach. The artist has accompanied their dancing with what seems to be a Japanese folk song about a "sweetheart in the far mountains who is coming to her lover." The Japanese appear to have had sympathy for the American sailors long cut off from home and family. This suggests that many Japanese saw the Americans as normal human beings, not demonic barbarians. In fact, members of the Perry expedition observed that while the samurai were often cool and aloof, the common people were usually friendly and courteous.


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