An extremely rare onboard view of Japanese women coaling a US cruiser in Nagasaki. The majority of harbor workers coaling ships in Nagasaki were women. In other ports they also played a crucial role.
Mounds of coal at Moji Harbor in Kyushu. Two steamers are being coaled in the background. Coal for foreign steamships was a major objective when U.S. warships forced Japan’s borders open in 1855.
A “human conveyor belt” coaling a steamship in the harbor of Nagasaki. Even mechanized coaling stations could barely coal faster than a Japanese crew. Women were crucial for this feat.
On this aerial photo of Tokyo Station you can see a waterway above the station. There is no waterway there today. What is this and what happened?
A woman in a tea ceremony—from a photo book about the Japanese tea ceremony published in 1907 (Meiji 40). This article reproduces the book.
The Great Kantō Earthquake of September 1, 1923 is the worst natural disaster in the history of Japan. It wiped much of Tokyo and Yokohama off the map.