Ume no Yoshibei, from the series Men Worthy of the Name in Costumes by Kuniyoshi

This print was part of the significant collection of Japanese art formed by Alfred Christian Oppler and Charlotte Preuss Oppler while they lived in Japan. In 1946, Alfred joined General MacArthur’s staff in Tokyo, where he served as chief of the courts and law division, and later headed the legislative and justice division. He held similar positions in Japan after the occupation, until his retirement in 1959. Daughter Ellen C. Oppler, formerly a professor of art history at Syracuse University, donated and bequeathed works of Japanese art from her parents’ collection to the Johnson Museum. (“American Sojourns and the Collecting of Japanese Art,” curated by Ellen Avril and presented at the Johnson Museum June 25–December 18, 2016)