shows photos of Japan between the 1860s and 1930s. In 1854, Japan opened its doors to the outside world for the first time in more than 200 years. It set in motion a truly astounding transformation. As fate would have it, photography had just been invented. As the old country vanished and a new one was born, daring photographers took photos. Discover what life was like with their rare and precious photographs of old Japan.

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10/28/2008 (Tuesday)

Reference Tool

Old Photos of Japan offers both enthusiasts and researchers an excellent way to study life, architecture and urban planning in Japan during the great transformation of the country between the 1850s and the 1930s.

We research each photo and present our findings on this website. Researchers will appreciate the ability to search by time period, location, photographer, publisher and even medium as well as by theme or keyword.

What makes Old Photos of Japan even more special are the maps that show the exact location where the photo was taken some 100 years ago. For some images we have also been able to take a photograph showing the current situation.

Please also note the very large number of footnotes and links, helping you to dig deeper.

Help Make this Site Better

If you have information about a location, custom, piece of clothing, tool and so on that has not been mentioned, please feel free to mention this in the comment for that image. By commenting on this site, you agree to transfer the copyright of your comment over to Old Photos of Japan.

Licensing Images

All images on Old Photos of Japan come from the Kjeld Duits Collection and Pump Park Vintage Photography, two private collections of photographs, glass slides, postcards, illustrations, books and maps of prewar Japan.

Ownership and copyright of all the data on this site, including the images, belong to the holders of these two collections.

If you wish to use copyrighted data in publications, broadcasting, lectures and so on, please purchase licenses from the tools menu above each image. After payment, you will immediately receive a link where you can download the digital file.

Size, Price and Details

The digital image is a 300 dpi jpg, with its longest side 2400 px. Most files are around 1MB as compressed jpg’s, the actual image you receive is significantly larger in size.

The license offers you multiple use of the image in a single medium for a maximum of 12 months.

There is no other place where you can so easily, conveniently and quickly obtain publication licenses for these rare images of Japan.

It is prohibited to copy, alter, redistribute, or sell part, parts, or all of the data without a license.

Questions?

This site is designed and maintained by ESO, a company in Western Japan that creates informational projects about Japan and the Japanese. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions about licensing, to request an interview or to discuss a collaborative project. To discuss the images, please use the comments.

ESO
12-20-306 Kusunoki-cho
Ashiya, Hyogo
659-0015 JAPAN

Phone: (+81) 0797-38-1482

Days: Monday through Friday
Hours: 09:00 – 20:30, Japan Time
Current time in Japan (month/day – hour): 07/20 - 09:50 (Sun)

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