help save Japan’s visual heritage of daily life

80129-0019 - Japanese Broom Vendor, 1890s

1890s
Broom Vendor

Artist	Unknown
Publisher	Unknown
Medium	Albumen Print
Period	Meiji
Location	Outside
Image No.	80129-0019
Purchase	Digital File
Author	Kjeld Duits

A street vendor carrying brooms (箒, houki) balanced on a carrying pole.

To protect himself from the elements, he is wearing a broad bamboo hat, known as a bachoukasa (バッチョウ笠).

Vendors like him used special calls to make potential customers aware of their arrival.

Published October 23, 2013
Updated July 14, 2021 3:01 AM

Reader Supported

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.

I share what I have found for free on this site, without ads or selling your data.

Your support helps me to continue doing so, and ensures that this exceptional visual heritage will not be lost and forgotten.

Thank you,
Kjeld Duits

support

Reference for Citations

Duits, Kjeld (July 14, 2021). 1890s: Broom Vendor, OLD PHOTOS of JAPAN. Retrieved on April 17, 2025 (GMT) from https://www.oldphotosjapan.com/photos/725/broom-vendor

At Work Outside Meiji

Explore More

1890s
Woman Cooking

A lovely studio photo of daily kitchen work in late 19th century Japan.

1890s
Fish Shop

Two young men are relaxing in a fish shop. Fish has always been an important part of the Japanese diet and was sold both at shops and by fish peddlers (furiuri) who walked around carrying fish in tubs that hung from a carrying pole on their shoulder.

Nagasaki 1910s
Taking on Coal

A crowd of harbor workers load high quality Kyushu coal onto a U.S. army transport ship in Nagasaki.

Add Comment

There are currently no comments on this article.

1890sBroom Vendor