In the nineteenth century, Japan produced prodigiously for its new Western market. Economic initiative spurred the creation of consumer items exclusively for the export market. At the same time, Japan began a massive consumption of Western goods, chiefly in the sectors of heavy industry and engineering. Quilted dressing gowns like these are for an occasion and of a style that would never have been operative in Japan. For the European customer, the pattern of late-spring flowers, insects, and lotuses evoked exotic origins, mitigated by accommodations to Western style.

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