80115-0035 Japanese New Year Celebrations

Kobe, 1906
New Year Celebrations 11

Artist	Teijiro Takagi
Publisher	Teijiro Takagi
Medium	Collotype Print
Period	Meiji
Location	Kobe
Image No.	80115-0035
Purchase	Digital File
Author	Kjeld Duits

A woman pours a close friend of the family some sake. Entertaining close friends took place in the best room of the house, with the friend sitting in the place of honor in front of the tokonoma¹.

This image is part of The New Year in Japan, a book published by Kobe-based photographer Kozaburo Tamamura in 1906. Original text²:

The more intimate and specially favoured friends are invited to enter the best room, which is elaborately decorated in the space known as ‘the place of honour,’ and the guest is invited to partake of toso, a kind of wine.

See all New Year images on Old Photos of Japan.

Notes

¹ The Tokonoma is an alcove in a Japanese-style reception room used to display valuable or artistic items (see 1890s • Woman in Room).

² Tamamura, Kozaburo (1906). The New Year in Japan. Tamamura Shashinkan.

³ Toso is spiced medicinal sake.

Published January 1, 2009
Updated December 29, 2022 12:33 AM

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Reference for Citations

Duits, Kjeld (December 29, 2022). Kobe, 1906: New Year Celebrations 11, OLD PHOTOS of JAPAN. Retrieved on October 31, 2025 (GMT) from https://www.oldphotosjapan.com/photos/672/new-year-celebrations-11

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Kobe, 1906New Year Celebrations 11