Lt. John T. Alderson collection of Japan photographs

Lt. John T. Alderson collection of Japan photographs, circa 1890's

Overview of the Collection

Collector

Alderson, John T

Title

Lt. John T. Alderson collection of Japan photographs

Dates

circa 1890's (inclusive)

Quantity

40 photographic prints (1 box) : hand colored ; sizes vary

Collection Number

PH1101

Summary

Hand colored photographs of Japan, some by Kusakabe Kimbei showing scenes of Japanese towns and landscapes

Repository

University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu

Access Restrictions

Entire collection can be viewed on the Libraries’ Digital Collections website. Permission of Visual Materials Curator required to view originals. Contact Special Collections for more information.

All photographs are hand colored with the exception of item 33.

Additional Reference Guides

Languages

English

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

Lt. John T. Alderson fought in the Spanish-American War, and brought back these photographs upon his return to the US.

This collection of photographs of Japan were probably made by the well known photographer Kusakabe Kimbei (1841-1934). Kimbei worked as a photographer until about 1913. He first worked as a photographic colorist and assistant to Felice Beato and Baron Raimund von Stillfried before he opened his own studio in 1881 in Yokohama, in the Bentendori quarter, and operated in the Honmachi quarter from 1889. He later also opened a branch of his studio in Tokyo in the Ginza quarter. His clientele were mostly foreign residents and visitors, thus his photographs tend to be of Japanese scenery and Japanese people doing activities that would appear exotic to foreigners.

Historical BackgroundReturn to Top

During the Meiji Period in Japan (1868-1912), foreign tourists were allowed to travel to the country for the first time in recent history. Many photographers set up studios to cater to foreign tourists, and the Japanese interest in photography expanded. Photographs and postcards became very popular souvenirs for locals as well as tourists. In addition, some photos and postcards were exported to other countries as these photographs could emphasize the exotic and feudal aspects of Japan, despite the fact that Japan was becoming increasingly westernized.

In 1868, at the beginning of the Meiji Period, the capitol of Japan was moved from Kyoto to Tokyo. Kyoto began to modernize around the historical sites that had been already been built. The city continues to be a modern city with modern transport, ancient temples, gardens and palaces.

In 1870, the number of professional photographers in Japan had exceeded 100, and this number continued to grow with each passing year. By the 1890s, it was a very popular trend to hand-color photographs.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The photographs include scenes of Nagasaki, Tokyo, Yokohama (including the "Foreign Settlement in Yokohama"), and greater Japan. The photograph of the French consulate in Yokohama is stamped "K. Kimbei, Photographer, Yokohama."

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Alternative Forms Available

View the digital version of the collection

Restrictions on Use

Restrictions might exist on reproduction, quotation, or publication. Contact the repository for details.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Preservation Note

All photographs are hand colored with the exception of item 33.

Acquisition Information

Donor: Mary Ruth Hardy, December 19, 2011.

Processing Note

Processed by Melody Hauf, 2012; processing completed in 2012

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

NagasakiReturn to Top

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Box/Folder	item
1/1	1	View of a three masted sail boat docked at the Nagasaki Harbor	circa 1890's
1/1	2	A woman carrying a child next to two men on the New Road Himitoge at Nagasaki	circa 1890's
1/1	3	View from beach of boats and coastal buildings at Inasa, Nagasaki	circa 1890's
1/1	4	A man pulling children in jinrikisha (rickshaw) on a road in front of large houses at (possibly the Inasa) Bluff, Nagasaki	circa 1890's
1/1	5	A Christian graveyard with a man standing at the doorway outside of a mausoleum and near three other Christian burial markers at Inasa, Nagasaki	circa 1890's
1/1	6	A man standing at the doorway outside Kofukuji Buddist Temple, Nagasaki Kofukuji Buddist Temple, Nagasaki is Japan's first and oldest remaining Chinese temple of the Obaku sect	circa 1890's
1/1	7	View of a bridge and buildings near the Naksima (probably Nakashima) tea house, Nagasaki	circa 1890's
1/1	8	People carrying baskets and walking on a road next to cultivated fields in the Nagasaki region near Mogi	circa 1890's
1/1	9	View looking down the hillside at the people carrying baskets and walking up a road next to cultivated fields (at possibly the Nagasaki region, near Mogi)	circa 1890's

YokohamaReturn to Top

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Box/Folder	item
1/2	10	Snow scene with people walking outside the town hall, with clock tower (built in 1874), and down the main shopping street (the motomachi district) in Yokohama with the post office in the right foreground	circa 1890's
1/2	11	City street scene with people walking, jinrikishas (rickshaws), and horse drawn carts outside of post office with the clock tower of the town hall on left in the distance, Yokohama	circa 1890's
1/2	12	City street view of rickshaws and people outside the dispensary, printer, tailor, tobacconist, and Swiss watches shops in the foreign settlement, Yokohama	circa 1890's
1/2	13	People and buildings at the base of to the 100 steps and cliff side, Yokohama	circa 1890's
1/2	14	View of boats on a canal and near a bridge leading to the French consulate, Yokohama K. Kimbei, Photographer, Yokohama, Japan (photographer) The French consulate was destroyed by the1923 Kantearthquake and only ruins of this building exist today. It destroyed much of Tokyo and Yokohama, and shifted the Great Budda.	circa 1890's
1/2	15	Two men pulling a woman and girl in jinrikisha (rickshaw) on a dirt road next to the cliff side at (Negishi) Mississippi Bay near Yokohama	circa 1890's
1/2	16	Rural view of farms on coastal edge near the foreign settlement at (Negishi) Mississippi Bay, Yokohama	circa 1890's
1/2	17	View looking down and across a bridge to surrounding city and the railway station, Yokohama	circa 1890's
1/2	18	Coastal view of two men outside a tea house, (probably at Yokohama) Original title half torn off: Honmo..., Yokohama	circa 1890's
1/2	19	A man fishing from boat near buildings along the Yokohama Harbor edge at Bund, Yokohama	circa 1890's

Tokio [Tokyo]Return to Top

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Box/Folder	item
1/3	20	View of lotus flower filled moat outside the Imperial palace wall, Tokyo Original caption reads:Tokio Castle Wall & Lotus Pond	circa 1890's
1/3	21	View looking over boats on a canal, with a bridge on left, and towards the Shinbashi railway station, Tokyo	circa 1890's
1/3	22	City street scene of people, jinrikishas (rickshaws), and horse drawn street car on the tree lined Main street, Tokyo	circa 1890's
1/3	23	View across a waterway lined with boats and looking to the Tsukiji foreign settlement, Tokyo	circa 1890's
1/3	24	View across a waterway to the Imperial Hotel, Tokyo	circa 1890's
1/3	25	People standing under the Shinto Torii Gate at the steps leading to the entrance of Uyeno Park, Tokyo The Torii gate religious symbol, marks the entrance to sacred space and represents the transition between the finite world and the infinite world of the gods.	circa 1890's
1/3	26	View looking over the canal to the Mikado palace (Nijubashi) bridge, Tokyo Original caption reads:Mikado Palace Brigde [sic] Tokio	circa 1890's
1/3	27	People standing along a blossoming cherry tree path next to the water at Mukojima, Tokyo	circa 1890's

Other locations in JapanReturn to Top

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Box/Folder	item
1/5	28	View over a waterway with small boats docked at harbor edge next to a large elaborate unidentified western architecture style three story brick building, (probably in Yokohama or Tokyo)	circa 1890's
1/5	29	View of the five-arched wooden Kintai bridge, Suo province	circa 1890's
1/5	30	View up to the bronze cast (Great Buddha) Daibutsu at Kamakura	circa 1890's
1/6	31	People in boats on a river and near a wooden bridge with Mt. Fuji in the background Original title half torn off: Fuji from Iwa...	circa 1890's
1/6	32	People on the beach leading to Enoshima Island	circa 1890's
1/5	33	View of men on the steps and outside of (possibly the Temple Myoshinji), Inasa This photograph is not colored.	circa 1890's

Unidentified LocationsReturn to Top

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Box/Folder	item
1/6	34	Three men on a path traveling through a giant bamboo garden.	circa 1890's
1/6	35	Two men, one standing on the steps in traditional Japanese clothing and the other wearing a european style suit and sitting, at a hillside garden featuring a small waterfall	circa 1890's
1/6	36	View of a stone edged constructed waterway and buildings, (possibly Tokyo) Written on back: Number "647"	circa 1890's
1/6	37	A small group of people looking down at rustic rural wood buildings and valley floor at the base of a mountain	circa 1890's
1/4	38	Portrait of a geisha and a vegetable peddler with baskets of root vegetables	circa 1890's
1/4	39	Five seated geishas at a meal with one pouring sake	circa 1890's
1/4	40	View of three men paused on the road while pulling geishas seated in jinrikishas (rickshaws)	circa 1890's

Archives West Finding Aid

Table of Contents