Japan

This fascinating publication tells the story of 335 years of British royal contact with Japan, from 1603 to c.1937. It explores how exquisite decorative arts were central both to direct diplomatic relations and to indirect cultural connection. Its major theme is of princely contact, distinguished by the royal tours and personal gift exchange, which reached their zenith in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Featuring new research on previously unpublished works, including lacquer, armour, embroidery and metalwork, this book showcases the exquisite craftsmanship of these beautiful objects, and the local materials, techniques and tradition behind them, within the context of three centuries of Japanese–British relations.