Kago Travelling Chair - Image by New York Public Library
Kago Travelling Chair - Image by New York Public Library

Photography was first introduced to Japan not long after its invention, when in the 1850s the nation was opened to Western trade and visitors for the first time in centuries.

The new Meiji imperial regime instituted a host of changes which brought new technologies and industries into the country, making the latter half of the 19th century a period of rapid change.

The identity of the photographer behind these hand-colored albumen prints of Japan in the 1890s is uncertain. The photos are drawn from an album held by the New York Public Library, and range from posed studio tableau of domestic life to majestic landscapes of the island nation’s natural beauty.

Farmer - Image by New York Public Library
Farmer – Image by New York Public Library
Fire Brigade - Image by New York Public Library
Fire Brigade – Image by New York Public Library
Eating Rice - Image by New York Public Library
Eating Rice – Image by New York Public Library
Eating by the Road Side - Image by New York Public Library
Eating by the Road Side – Image by New York Public Library
Drawing Water from the Well - Image by New York Public Library
Drawing Water from the Well – Image by New York Public Library
Carrying rice-bales to market - Image by New York Public Library
Carrying rice-bales to market – Image by New York Public Library
Bronze Horse Temple Nagasaki - Image by New York Public Library
Bronze Horse Temple Nagasaki – Image by New York Public Library
Bamboo Grove, Kioto - Image by New York Public Library
Bamboo Grove, Kioto – Image by New York Public Library
Akasaka, Tokyo - Image by New York Public Library
Akasaka, Tokyo – Image by New York Public Library
Young Nurse - Image by New York Public Library
Young Nurse – Image by New York Public Library
Waterfall, Yumoto - Image by New York Public Library
Waterfall, Yumoto – Image by New York Public Library
Threshing Rice - Image by New York Public Library
Threshing Rice – Image by New York Public Library
Theatre Street, Yokohama - Image by New York Public Library
Theatre Street, Yokohama – Image by New York Public Library
The Sleeping Girls in Japanese Bed - Image by New York Public Library
The Sleeping Girls in Japanese Bed – Image by New York Public Library
The Farmer Planting the Rice Sprouts - Image by New York Public Library
The Farmer Planting the Rice Sprouts – Image by New York Public Library
Tea-Yard at Uzi, Yamashiro - Image by New York Public Library
Tea-Yard at Uzi, Yamashiro – Image by New York Public Library
Takaboko Nagasaki - Image by New York Public Library
Takaboko Nagasaki – Image by New York Public Library
Spectacle (bridge) at Otani, Kioto - Image by New York Public Library
Spectacle (bridge) at Otani, Kioto – Image by New York Public Library
Shiraitono-Taki (A Waterfall) near Fuji Mountain - Image by New York Public Library
Shiraitono-Taki (A Waterfall) near Fuji Mountain – Image by New York Public Library
Sepulchre, Shiba, Tokyo - Image by New York Public Library
Sepulchre, Shiba, Tokyo – Image by New York Public Library
Kitchen (preparing dinner) - Image by New York Public Library
Kitchen (preparing dinner) – Image by New York Public Library
Kind of Rope Dancing - Image by New York Public Library
Kind of Rope Dancing – Image by New York Public Library
Kago Travelling Chair - Image by New York Public Library
Kago Travelling Chair – Image by New York Public Library
Hancing Bridge (Near Fuji) - Image by New York Public Library
Hancing Bridge (Near Fuji) – Image by New York Public Library
Fuji from Yoshiwara (Tokaido) - Image by New York Public Library
Fuji from Yoshiwara (Tokaido) – Image by New York Public Library

Related articles

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR