Much ink has been spilled on Emperor Meiji’s transition from nonvisual to visual. Scholars have investigated his initial photographic sessions in 1872 and 1873, the proliferation of woodblock prints that featured him in the 1880s to the early 1890s, the construction of his “true likeness” (go-shin’ei) in 1888 from a combination of drawing and photography, and the posthumous painting cycle of eighty works housed in the Meiji Memorial Picture Gallery (Seitoku Kinen Kaigakan) that required more than two decades to complete in 1936.³

Nestled next to the expansive, multi-floor exhibit, however, is the Japanese wing housing a long-term show dedicated to the process by which the Met was able to collect art and artifacts from Japan since the 19^th century. Being acquainted with the Japanese wing of the museum might instill some disappointment as there are not a whole lot of new additions to see or information to know – however, if you go without the expectation of seeing a new take on their collection, you can have a pleasurable and familiar experience while engaging with a bit of back story.