1880s
Beauties of the Bath
Japan’s bathing culture is considered quintessentially Japanese. No guide book of Japan is complete without instructions on how to take a bath. A short history.
1880s
1863 Tokyo
Ruins of the American Legation
I almost sold this print because it seemed insignificant. Thankfully, a book by Dutch historian Herman J. Moeshart helped me realize it is an extremely rare and important historical document.
spotlight
15 Years 'Old Photos of Japan'
On 30 March 2007, exactly 15 years ago today, I posted the very first article on Old Photos of Japan.
1930s
How Radio Gymnastics Conquered Japan
Female students doing calisthenics in 1936 (Showa 11). Calisthenics became astonishingly popular in Japan after the radio program Rajio Taisō (ラジオ体操, Radio Gymnastics) was started in 1928 (Showa 3).
Tokyo 1925
The Birth of Radio
This unassuming building at Tokyo’s Atagoyama is considered the birthplace of Japanese broadcasting, as well as Japan’s public broadcaster, NHK. Regular radio broadcasts started here on July 12, 1925 (Taisho 14).
Kobe 1871
Motomachi 3-Chōme
If you have been to Kobe, you have almost certainly walked down the long covered shopping arcade of Motomachi, Kobe’s most popular shopping street. This is what that street looked like in 1871 (Meiji 4).