OLD PHOTOS of JAPAN, a photo blog of Japan in the Meiji, Taisho and Showa periods

Old Photos of Japan
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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Recent Comments  
  • Vina

    I was looking for 1920’s hairstyles for longer hair and found this. That contraption looks …

  • Japanese words

    Great picture. That looks like quite the dangerous contraption.

  • freakout

    this is gross looking

  • Mr. T

    Japanese women have such lovely hair. It’s almost a shame to see this done but …

Good Book Tip
A Career of Japan: Baron Raimund Von Stillfried and Early Yokohama Photography • Luke Gartlan

A Career of Japan is the first study of one of the major photographers and personalities of nineteenth-century Japan. Baron Raimund von Stillfried was the most important foreign-born photographer of the Meiji era and one of the first globally active photographers of his generation. He played a key role in the international image of Japan and the adoption of photography within Japanese society itself.


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1920s • Woman Curling Hair

Japanese Woman Curling Hair
US hairstyle 1920s
click to enlarge

A young Japanese woman is waving her bobbed hairstyle.

The bob was first started in the USA in 1915 by celebrated ballroom dancer Irene Castle (1893-1969).

It was perfect for the free-spirited youth of the time and turned into a controversial craze during the 1920s. The bob became the signature look of the flapper.

It didn’t take long for young Japanese women with modern ideas to take to the new hairstyle. Compared to the traditional Japanese styles it was extremely easy to care for as well as liberating.

The inset photo shows the kind of US hairstyle, and make-up, that influenced Japanese women at that time (click to enlarge).

For more information about the modernizing Japanese woman during the 1920s and 1930s, see 1930s • Woman with Modern Hairdo.

Photographer: Unknown
Publisher: Unknown
Medium: Silver Gelatin Print
Image Number 70802-0001

Quote this number when you contact us about licensing this image.
You can also licence this image online: 70802-0001 @ MeijiShowa.com.

IMPORTANT
Usage of this image requires a reproduction fee.
Reference for Citations

Duits, K. (2008, June 9). 1920s • Woman Curling Hair, Old Photos of Japan. Retrieved on 2021, Dec 06 from https://www.oldphotosjapan.com/photos/269/woman-curling-hair

Posted by • 2008-06-09
Add Comment

Japanese women have such lovely hair. It’s almost a shame to see this done but it was a fad. Compared to what women do to their hair today, this is nothing.

#000076 · Mr. T · 2008-06-11

this is gross looking

#000258 · freakout · 2008-09-19

Great picture. That looks like quite the dangerous contraption.

#000377 · Japanese words · 2009-03-27

I was looking for 1920’s hairstyles for longer hair and found this. That contraption looks amazing! My mother is a hairdresser, as was my grandmother, and I often get roped in to help so this is quite fascinating. And I’m sure this young woman took better care of her hair than a lot of young women and men today.

#000458 · Vina · 2011-01-09








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