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Paris was a scene of bustle and prosperity at the start of the 20th century as it hosted the Exposition. Running for seven months from April 1900 and attracting 50 million people from around the world, the fair was held during the height of the Art Nouveau period. The elegant exhibition hall replete with the popular soft line-art of the period, along with the 301-meter-high Eiffel Tower, exuded the prospect that the coming century could fulfill humanity’s dreams.
This excitingly unusual atmosphere was the setting for a competition in which the nations of the world showed off their leading technologies and innovations. The delegation from Japan brought not only arts and crafts, but also myriad industrial products incorporating the leading technologies of the period. Among these were Sumitomo’s copper plating, copper wire, and camphor products.
Sometime later, after the fair ended and the new century had begun, the Exposition sent Sumitomo the unexpected news that its copper plating and camphor products had won gold medals while its copper wire had won a silver medal. These accomplishments demonstrated that, despite over 200 years of virtual isolation from the West, Japan’s technological prowess had risen to a level competitive with the world’s most advanced countries. |
