Dresser's three-month journey to Japan in 1876 fulfilled what he, a lifelong admirer of Japanese art and aesthetics, described as "the greatest desire of my life." Received by the Emperor of Japan, he was given access to places from which most Westerners were still barred. He traveled widely, visiting a dazzling array of manufacturers and craftsmen in a wide variety of industries, including pottery, metalwork, bamboo, basketry, furniture, lacquer, textiles, toys, and paper. What he saw opened his eyes to a new potential for form and materials in decorative art. In 1882, he published his seminal book, Japan: Its Architecture, Art and Art Manufactures, which further fueled Japonism in England. Dresser spent three months in the United States on his way to Japan, visiting the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition and lecturing at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. He was commissioned by Tiffany and Co. of New York to send back objects from Japan.