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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Unbeaten Tracks in Japan • Isabella L. Bird
Unbeaten Tracks in Japan

In 1878, just 19 years after Japan opened it first ports to the world, and a mere ten years after the fall of the Tokugawa Shogunate, an adventurous 47-year old woman from the UK set out to explore the interior of Japan. The country was virtually unknown to Westerners, and a woman traveling only with a guide seemed outrageous. Everybody advised her not to, but she went anyway and wrote this unique and vivid journal of what she saw and experienced.


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Tokaido

Japan, Tokaido Highway about 30 Miles from Yokohama (1930). # 80122-0003
Tokaido 1930 • Car on the Tokaido
Showa • •
Unknown • Glass Slide • New York State Education Department
Sanmaibashi on the Tokaido # 70319-0008
Hakone 1890s • Rural Road
Meiji • •
Nobukuni Enami • Albumen Print • Nobukuni Enami