OLD PHOTOS of JAPAN, a photo blog of Japan in the Meiji, Taisho and Showa periods

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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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Art And Artifice: Japanese Photographs Of The Meiji Era • Sebastian Dobson, Anne Nishimura Morse, Frederic Sharf
Art And Artifice

A brief introduction to Meiji-era photographs and to the world in which they flourished. Three essays and dozens of images explore the social function of these photos, their remarkable artistry, and the personal stories of those who collected and preserved these images.


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Kobe, 1906 • New Year Celebrations 16

Tags: Kozaburo Tamamura • Meiji • Kobe • •
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New Year Celebrations

Girls play hanetsuki (羽根突き) (battledore and shuttlecock) in front of their home, one of the traditional games played during the New Year celebrations. There are two ways to play the: one person keeps the shuttlecock aloft as long as possible, or two people batting it at each other. This image is part of The New Year in Japan, a book published by Kobe-based photographer Kozaburo Tamamura in 1906. Original text:

Attired in her best kimono (dress) and obi (band), Ohama San calls upon her friend Otama San to join her in a game of battledore and shutlecock [sic], this being a thre days custom of the beginning of the New Year.1

See all New Year images on Old Photos of Japan.

1 Tamamura, Kozaburo (1906). The New Year in Japan. Tamamura Shashinkan.

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Photographer: Kozaburo Tamamura
Publisher: Kozaburo Tamamura
Medium: Collotype Print
Image Number: 80115-0040
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Girls play hanetsuki (羽根突き) (battledore and shuttlecock) in front of their home, one of the traditional games played during the New Year celebrations. There are two ways to play the: one person keeps the shuttlecock aloft as long as possible, or two people batting it at each other. This image is part of The New Year in Japan, a book published by Kobe-based photographer Kozaburo Tamamura in 1906. Click on Read Full Article to read the original text that accompanied this image.

Thumbnail URL: http://oldphotosjapan.com/images/508t.jpg
Posted by Kjeld Duits • 2009-01-01
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