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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Ainu: Spirit of a Northern People • William W. Fitzhugh et al
Ainu: Spirit of a Northern People

Japan’s indigenous people, the Ainu, inhabited Hokkaido, the Kurile Islands, southern Sakhalin Island, and a portion of northern Honshu. They had a unique culture and language, completely separate from that of the Japanese. By the middle of the 19th century, the destruction of this ancient culture was set in motion by Japan’s national government.


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Kobe, 1906 • New Year Celebrations 1

Tags: Kozaburo TamamuraMeijiKobe
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New Year Celebrations

A family cleans the home in advance of the New Year celebrations. Cleaning is a major part of preparing for the New Year as Shinto beliefs place much importance on purity. This image is part of The New Year in Japan, a book published by Kobe-based photographer Kozaburo Tamamura in 1906. Original text:

A preliminary to the coming of the New Year is a general “spring cleaning,” as our friends term it. The interior and exterior of every domicile is cleaned and re-decorated. Warehouses and business houses all undergo a similar “clean out,” and we get ready for a new lease on life.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: 80115-0025
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<a href="http://oldphotosjapan.com/en/photos/682/new-year-celebrations-1">Kobe, 1906 • New Year Celebrations 1</a>

A family cleans the home in advance of the New Year celebrations. Cleaning is a major part of preparing for the New Year as Shinto beliefs place much importance on purity. 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.

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Posted by Kjeld Duits • 2009-01-01
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