In this satirical Meiji-era scene, Pepe embodies the exaggerated figure of a Japanese dandy adopting Meriken-ryū, the “American style”, a term used broadly at the time to mock the sudden Westernisation in clothing, manners, and posture. Dressed in ill-fitting plaid trousers, bowler hat, and oversized coat, Pepe strikes a flamboyant pose that elicits laughter from onlookers. The composition imitates kuchi-e and newspaper caricatures of the 1880s–1900s, which often highlighted the awkwardness and cultural friction of rapid modernisation. Here, Pepe becomes both participant and parody of the era’s fascination with Western fashion, capturing the humour, anxiety, and theatricality of Japan’s Meiji transformation.