Tokyo 1880s
The Forgotten Horse Races of Ueno Park (1)
Today, people visit Shinobazu Pond in Tokyo’s Ueno Park to quietly admire its magnificent lotus flowers. But for a brief period in the past, crowds gathered here to watch exciting horse races, brilliant spectacles that were carefully designed to craft a national identity.
spotlight
The Past is Closer than You Think
Many photographs on Old Photos of Japan were shot in the 1880s and 1890s, nearly a century and a half ago. It feels very long ago. But is it?
Inside 1920s
"The Silk Industry of Japan" (2)
Three women harvesting silk cocoons. From a rare photo book about Japanese silk farmers in the 1920s. This article reproduces the book.
Inside 1920s
"The Silk Industry of Japan" (1)
Selecting silkworms for spinning cocoons. From a rare photo book about Japanese silk farmers in the 1920s. This article reproduces the book.
Inside 1900s
The Quiet Power of Japanese Silk
Japanese silk cocoon traders weighing cocoons in the 1900s. Ordinary people like these men, most of them in Japan’s rural heartland, quietly turned the country into the world’s leading exporter of raw silk.