Old Photos of Japan rescues rare images of daily life in old Japan
Learn more about this project

80115-0035 Japanese New Year Celebrations

Kobe, 1906
New Year Celebrations 11

Artist	Teijiro Takagi
Publisher	Teijiro Takagi
Medium	Collotype Print
Period	Meiji
Location	Kobe
Image No.	80115-0035
Purchase	Digital File
Author	Kjeld Duits

A woman pours a close friend of the family some sake. Entertaining close friends took place in the best room of the house, with the friend sitting in the place of honor in front of the tokonoma¹.

This image is part of The New Year in Japan, a book published by Kobe-based photographer Kozaburo Tamamura in 1906. Original text²:

The more intimate and specially favoured friends are invited to enter the best room, which is elaborately decorated in the space known as ‘the place of honour,’ and the guest is invited to partake of toso, a kind of wine.

See all New Year images on Old Photos of Japan.

Notes

¹ The Tokonoma is an alcove in a Japanese-style reception room used to display valuable or artistic items (see 1890s • Woman in Room).

² Tamamura, Kozaburo (1906). The New Year in Japan. Tamamura Shashinkan.

³ Toso is spiced medicinal sake.

Published January 1, 2009
Updated December 29, 2022 9:33 AM

Reader Supported

Old Photos of Japan aims to be your personal museum for Japan's visual heritage and to bring the experiences of everyday life in old Japan to you.

To enhance our understanding of Japanese culture and society I track down, acquire, archive, and research images of everyday life, and give them context.

I share what I have found for free on this site, without ads or selling your data.

Your support helps me to continue doing so, and ensures that this exceptional visual heritage will not be lost and forgotten.

Thank you,
Kjeld Duits

support

Reference for Citations

Duits, Kjeld (December 29, 2022). Kobe, 1906: New Year Celebrations 11, OLD PHOTOS of JAPAN. Retrieved on August 6, 2026 (GMT) from https://www.oldphotosjapan.com/photos/672/new-year-celebrations-11

Explore More

Outside 1880s
The Burden of Youth (2)

From the late 1800s countless young Japanese girls worked as indentured nursemaids. PART 2: Privations and resistance.

1910s
Have Fish, Will Travel

Children admiring the merchandise of a goldfish vendor. From the Edo period (1603–1867) on, street vendors were essential in daily life in Japan. They sold everything from vegetables to gold fish, fireflies and crickets. Even massages and medicine.

Kobe, 1906
New Year Celebrations 22

Firefighters in happi coats perform acrobatic stunts on top of bamboo ladders. The ladder stunts were the main event of Japanese New Year celebrations.

Add Comment

There are currently no comments on this article.

Kobe, 1906New Year Celebrations 11