A spectacular view of thousands of lotus flowers surrounding Bentenjima Island in Shinobazu Pond. From 1884 to 1892, the pond was the location of Japan’s most important horse racing track, strongly supported by Emperor Meiji and the government.
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.
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?
Three women harvesting silk cocoons. From a rare photo book about Japanese silk farmers in the 1920s. This article reproduces the book.
Selecting silkworms for spinning cocoons. From a rare photo book about Japanese silk farmers in the 1920s. This article reproduces the book.
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.