Old Photos of Japan rescues rare images of daily life in old Japan
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Kjeld Duits

Kjeld Duits was born in the Netherlands and has lived in Japan since 1982 (Showa 57). He is the founder of DUITS, a boutique journalism and stock photography agency in Tokyo. Duits has been collecting and researching vintage photographs since 2007 and has worked with museums, documentary makers, publishers, government agencies and other organizations worldwide.

Spotlight
A look Behind the Scenes: Making Maps

Zuijin warrior-guardian figure at the Yomeimon Gate of Tōshōgu Shrine in Nikkō, Tochigi Prefecture, May 1934

Nikkō 1934
Worshipping a Warrior

Former main gate of a feudal estate in Edo, ca. 1890s

Tokyo 1890s
Edo: A Metropolis of Hostages

Former residence of the Owari Domain in Ichigaya, Tokyo, ca, 1872

Tokyo 1872
Edo: Japan's New Center of Power

Tokyo's Imperial Palace between 1872 and 1874

Tokyo 1870s
A Castle in a Marsh

A woman looks out at Shinobazu Pond's lotus flowers from a restaurant in Tokyo's Ueno district, 1920s

Tokyo 1920s
Ueno before the Quake

Taiwan Pavilion at the Tokyo Industrial Exhibition of 1907

Tokyo 1907
The Forgotten Horse Races of Ueno Park (3)

Shinobazu Pond at Tokyo's Ueno Park, 1890s

Tokyo 1880s
The Forgotten Horse Races of Ueno Park (2)

Horse race track at Shinobazu Pond in Ueno Park, Tokyo, ca. 1880s

Tokyo 1880s
The Forgotten Horse Races of Ueno Park (1)

Spotlight
The Past is Closer than You Think

Japanese farm women harvesting silk cocoons, 1920s

Inside 1920s
"The Silk Industry of Japan" (2)

Japanese farm women selecting matured silkworms, 1920s

Inside 1920s
"The Silk Industry of Japan" (1)

Glass slide by Nobukuni Enami of Japanese silk cocoon traders weighing cocoons, ca. 1900s

Inside 1900s
The Quiet Power of Japanese Silk

Hand colored albumen print by Reiji Esaki of Japanese women transplanting rice seedlings, ca. 1890s

Outside 1890s
Japan's Green Revolution (2)

Dai Nippon Artificial Fertilizer Company in Osaka, 1913

Osaka 1913
Japan's Green Revolution (1)

Manufacturing factory of Nakayama Taiyodo Club Cosmetics in Osaka, 1929

Osaka 1929
Becoming Modern with Face Powder and Caramels

Spotlight
Rare Photos of the Hiroshima Atomic Bombing

The Atomic Bomb Dome, Hiroshima in July, 1947

Hiroshima
Every Day I Thought I Would Die Tomorrow

Japanese siege gun fires during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05

China 1904
War, Power and Steel

Interior view of Toyobo's Sangenya factory in Osaka, 1929

Osaka 1929
Japan's Cotton Revolution

Aerial photo of Osaka Castle and Arsenal, 1929

Osaka 1929
City of Smoke

Spotlight
This Japanese Woman from the 1930s Found Me

Advertising flyer for the New Osaka Hotel, ca. 1935

Osaka 1935
The New Osaka • New Hotel for a New Era

Osaka's Kitahama business district in 1929

Osaka 1929
Nakanoshima: Modern and Vibrant

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