Since Japan had been largely isolated from the outside world from the 1630s to the 1850s, official visits of foreign dignitaries were of great interest to the print-buying public in the Meiji era. In contrast to the highly imaginative scenes of the home life of the Imperial family, foreign guests and the Japanese statesmen who entertained them are often depicted in a more realistic drawing style, sometimes based on photographs. Dignitaries other than the imperial family are usually identified by name, as in this triptych showing one of the events during the visit to Japan of former U.S. president Ulysses S. Grant.

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