With the arrival of Portuguese ships in the mid-16th century, European glass was introduced to Japan, facilitating the encounter of the archipelago with Western art, technology, and science, producing effects that extended to everyday life. During the Edo period, glass products and tools from the West affected Japanese society in three main respects: (1) the use of glassware and glass devices—such as eyeglasses, mirrors, vessels, and clocks—in daily life; (2) the diffusion of artifacts—such as crystals, beads, mirrors, and glazed windows in architecture—for decorative and artistic purposes; and (3) technology and scientific knowledge through glass apparatus—such as prisms, optical lenses, telescopes, microscopes, and thermometers—for empirical, medical, or chemical use, fostering experimental methods and answering speculative questions. Examining some European and Japanese sources on glass trade and dissemination, this article surveys the role of glass in early modern European–Japanese cross-cultural relationships from a multidisciplinary perspective.

Arte e scienza tra Occidente e Oriente. Il vetro europeo nel Giappone Edo (1603–1867)

Tiziana Iannello
Writing – Original Draft Preparation
2019-01-01

Abstract

With the arrival of Portuguese ships in the mid-16th century, European glass was introduced to Japan, facilitating the encounter of the archipelago with Western art, technology, and science, producing effects that extended to everyday life. During the Edo period, glass products and tools from the West affected Japanese society in three main respects: (1) the use of glassware and glass devices—such as eyeglasses, mirrors, vessels, and clocks—in daily life; (2) the diffusion of artifacts—such as crystals, beads, mirrors, and glazed windows in architecture—for decorative and artistic purposes; and (3) technology and scientific knowledge through glass apparatus—such as prisms, optical lenses, telescopes, microscopes, and thermometers—for empirical, medical, or chemical use, fostering experimental methods and answering speculative questions. Examining some European and Japanese sources on glass trade and dissemination, this article surveys the role of glass in early modern European–Japanese cross-cultural relationships from a multidisciplinary perspective.
2019
61 (2019)
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/10278/3711825
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