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.
Japanese women transplanting rice seedlings, a process called taue (田植え). Rice farming was hard backbreaking work. For small farmers it was barely worth the effort. Education, innovation, and fertilizer aimed to change that.
This unassuming factory in Osaka, owned by the Dai-Nippon Artificial Fertilizer Company, tells the little-known story of Japan’s green revolution. By the 1930s, Japan had doubled the output of six major staples and ranked fifth globally in per-acre fertilizer consumption.
Osaka women packing cosmetics at Nakayama Taiyodo Club Cosmetics, a pioneer in scientific management, with bold marketing and cutting-edge products. Firms like this drove Japan’s modernization.
The Duits Collection holds a number of rare photos taken after the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima. This article briefly explains what makes these images so special. With one exception, it is very unlikely you have seen them before.
On August 6, 1945, an atomic bomb obliterated Hiroshima. About 40% of the estimated 350,000 inhabitants died before the year ended. This is the story of a 19-year-old nurse who miraculously survived.