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1. 1873 Vienna World’s Fair

2. • As well as being a chance to showcase Austro-Hungarian
industry and culture, the World’s Fair in Vienna
commemorated Franz Joseph I’s 25th
year as emperor.[1] The
main grounds were in the Prater, a park near the Danube
River, and preparations cost £23.4 million.[2] It lasted from
May 1 to November 2, hosting about 7,225,000 visitors.

3. • There were almost 26,000 exhibitors[3] housed in different
buildings that were erected for this exposition, including the
Rotunda (Rotunde), a large circular building in the great
park of Prater designed by the Scottish engineer John Scott
Russell. (The fair Rotunda was destroyed by fire on 17
September 1937.)

4. • The Japanese exhibition at the fair was the product of years
of preparation. The empire had received its invitation in
1871, close on the heels of the Meiji Restoration, and a
government bureau was established to produce an
appropriate response. Shigenobu Okuma, Tsunetami Sano,
and its other officials were keen to use the event to raise the
international standing of Japanese manufactures and boost
exports. 24 engineers were also sent with its delegation to
study cutting-edge Western engineering at the fair for use
in Japanese industry

5. • Forty-one Japanese officials and government interpreters, as
well as six Europeans in Japanese employ, came to Vienna to
oversee the pavilion and the fair’s cultural events. 25
craftsmen and gardeners created the main pavilion, as well
as a full Japanese garden with shrine and a model of the
former pagoda at Tokyo’s imperial temple