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Felice Beato (1832–1909) lived and worked in Japan from 1863 through 1884, just as the country opened its doors to the world. He was extremely active in Japan, and portrayed the Japanese with dignity and as equals of Westerners. He was the first photographer in Japan to sell albums of his works. Most likely, it was Beato that introduced the later so diligently followed concept of “views” and “types” to photography of Japan.
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1890s • Woman Writing with Brush
A woman wearing a kimono is writing a letter with a brush. A box to place brushes and sumi (ink), and an andon lamp are on the tatami (rice mats). In the back hangs a kakejiku (hanging scroll).
The Japanese writing system was introduced to Japan from China in the 4th century AD. Initially, the Chinese characters were only used for reading and writing Chinese. Around the mid seventh century, or possibly earlier, a writing system was developed which used Chinese characters to represent the Japanese language. This was called Manyogana (万葉仮名). The name has been derived from the Manyoshu, a Japanese poetry anthology from the Nara Period (710-794).
The Meiji Period (1868-1912) saw a range of important transformations in the use of written Japanese. The Genbunitchi (言文一致) movement, for example, resulted in using a colloquial form to write. Previously, a classical style had been used. Additionally, in 1900, the Education Ministry standardized the hiragana script and limited the number of kanji (Chinese characters) taught in elementary schools to about 1,200.
More significant reform followed after the end of WWII, when conservatives were removed from control of the educational system. Undoubtedly, the most important reforms were limiting the number of kanji students learn at Japanese high-schools to just 1,850, and changing the direction from right-to-left to left-to-right.
Publisher: Unknown
Medium: Albumen Print
Image Number 70614-0004
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Duits, K. (2008, June 24). 1890s • Woman Writing with Brush, Old Photos of Japan. Retrieved on 2021, Jun 19 from https://www.oldphotosjapan.com/photos/277/woman-writing-with-brush
OldPhotosJapan.com — a photo blog about old Japan that reads like a book and works like an archive. All the photographs are from the Kjeld Duits Collection and available for licensing at MeijiShowa.com. Use when you need historical photos, maps or illustrations of Japan for your newspaper article, book, documentary, advertising or other project. For questions, contact us.
Hi Thomas, what is the link?
have posted 70+ photographs on googles picasa website 1850 Photographs of China & Japan