A very rare view of boats with harbor workers on their way to a steamer at Kobe Harbor, visible in the back. This article looks at how Japanese coaling was done from the workers’ viewpoint.
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.