Animals as Tools of Satire: The Grotesque Anthropomorphic Animal Representations of Samurai in Visual Art During the Bakumatsu Period

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Japanstudies (BA)

Grootenboer, Zeno (2023)

Animals as Tools of Satire: The Grotesque Anthropomorphic Animal Representations of Samurai in Visual Art During the Bakumatsu Period

Bachelor thesis | Japanstudies (BA)

In this thesis, I try to answer the research question “How were the samurai satirized through the usage of anthropomorphic animal imagery in visual art during the Bakumatsu period”. I aim to explore the use of animals in visual art to depict samurai and the connection between the use of animals and the concept of parody. During these turbulent times from the 1840’s to the 1860’s an increase in political satire is seen in visual art, as such the usage of animal imagery to convey this satire is also seen during these years originating from the Tenpō reforms. Through the concepts of parody, historical context, and various analyses I will have enough material to formulate a conclusion. It shows that the decline of the shogunate did not result in a consistent nationwide rise in grotesque animal portrayals of the samurai. Factors such as place and the level of authoritative power also played significant roles.