A beautiful portrait of a woman in kimono. This photograph was extremely popular during the late 1800s and has been attributed to just about every major photographer who was active during that time.
In his book Early Japanese Images , photographic expert Terry Bennett calls this woman an “officer’s daughter” and dates it to the 1880s.
His notes give a little background information1:
Variously attributed to Stillfried, Farsari, and Kusakabe, this charming portrait enjoyed great popularity during the last two decades of the nineteenth century, appearing not only in tourist albums but even in travel guides to Japan. Clearly this image corresponded with Western notions of Japanese feminine beauty. However, the author once saw an inscription that read ‘Eurasian Beauty.
Addendum
Since I wrote this article, Japanese photo researcher Rob Oechsle attributed this image to Baron Raimund von Stillfried (1839–1911) and dates it to 1876-1885. The name Miss Matsuida was found on part of an early manuscript notation on the mount of a print of this image.
Notes
1 Bennett, Terry (1996). Early Japanese Images. Charles E, Tuttle Company, 143. ISBN: 0804820295.
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Old Photos of Japan aims to be your personal museum for Japan's visual heritage and to bring the experiences of everyday life in old Japan to you.
To enhance our understanding of Japanese culture and society I track down, acquire, archive, and research images of everyday life, and give them context.
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Kjeld Duits
Reference for Citations
Duits, Kjeld (). 1880s: Woman in Kimono, OLD PHOTOS of JAPAN. Retrieved on January 20, 2025 (GMT) from https://www.oldphotosjapan.com/photos/403/woman-kimono
TosaToast
I’ve read that this is actually a photograph of Saito Kichi (斎藤きち). A woman involved in a tragic love story during the Bakumatsu. She was forced to leave her fiancé and was strategically assigned to be Townsend Harris’ concubine during his time in Japan.
https://ja.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/斎藤きち
#000582 ·
Kjeld Duits (Author)
Thank you for sharing. There are quite a few other photos that have also been claimed to show Saito Kichi. As far as I know there is no proof that any of these photo truly show Saito.
Are you familiar with Shimoda Story by Oliver Statler? From page 384 he gives a very well-researched account about what really happened to Saito. The most reliable account I have found so far.
#000583 ·
TosaToast
I am not familiar with with the Shimoda Story, but it will be put in my basket as the next one to read! Thank you for the recommendation!
#000586 ·