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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12/31/2026 (Thursday)

Samurai: An Illustrated History • Mitsuo Kure

A chronological coverage of samurai history detailing the main battles, personnel, weaponry and fortifications. Line drawings of fortifications and armor, and photographs of battle re-enactments conducted by historical re-enactment societies bring the battles back to life.

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A Window into Japan’s Past

“You have to know the past, “ wrote American Astronomer Dr. Carl Sagan (1934-1996), “to understand the present.” This is especially true for Japan’s dramatic transformation from an isolated feudal country to a modern world power between the 1850s and 1930s. It is during this period that the modern Japan that we know today was born. Many of the customs that are now called traditional were invented during this time. And many that are still seen as new can trace their origins to this time as well.

Using rare vintage photos, glass slides and postcards as a starting point, Old Photos of Japan shows what life, architecture and urban planning was like in Japan during this period.

Carefully Researched

Each photo is carefully researched using both modern and contemporary sources from Japan and abroad, and the findings are presented on this website.

Powerful Search Options

If you are looking for something specific, you will appreciate the ability to search by time period, location, photographer, publisher and even medium as well as by theme or keyword.

Geographic Context

Photos of locations easily become meaningless if you don’t know the place. Many descriptions on Old Photos of Japan feature maps that show the exact location where the photo was taken some 100 years ago. Some images even have a photograph showing the current situation.

If you want to still dig deeper, the large number of footnotes and links allow you to do this.

Japanese names

While most academic books use the Japanese order for Japanese names (last name – first name), Old Photos of Japan uses the Western order for all Japanese people whose main activities occurred after the beginning of the Meiji Period. The Japanese order is used for people who lived (and died) in the Edo Period and earlier. This is done to accommodate people who are as yet fairly unfamiliar with Japan. People who are familiar with the Japanese custom will have no problem understanding the right order of the names.

Attribution

The attribution of the photographs is based on a variety of sources, the most important being Photography in Japan 1853-1912 and Old Japanese Photographs: Collectors’ Data Guide, both by Terry Bennett. If several sources attribute an image to different photographers, the attribution in the above two books is selected as the most reliable.

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. Your input helps to make Old Photos of Japan a better resource for all who use it.

Licensing Images

All images on Old Photos of Japan come from the Kjeld Duits Collection, a private collection of photographs, glass slides, postcards, illustrations, books and maps of prewar Japan.

Ownership or copyright of all the data on this site, including the images, belong to the holder of this collection.

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

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.

For larger images, please contact us.

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. However, you can use the snippets marked Blog This! to add text and photos to your blog or site free of charge.

Advertising

We offer text links in the left column and in individual articles. In case of article ads, you can place text links in all articles or target articles about specific cities as listed in Places in the right column.

You can pay monthly or in advance. By paying 3, 6 or 12 months in advance you can save up to 35% on the advertising fee.

Contact us for our rates and other information.

Questions?

Use the contact form below if you have any questions about advertising, licensing, to request an interview, or to discuss a collaborative project. To discuss the images, please use the comments.

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