We had a wonderful visit with a group of Japanese students from Showa Women’s University in Tokyo, Japan. The students were visiting Boston to learn about Japanese culture and history under the theme of “Seeing Japan from the Outside.”
They were excited to see our Special Collections related to Japan, including a salted paper print dated in 1860 featuring the first Japanese Delegation to the United States after Japan ended sakoku. (You can read more about this print in our previous post.)
Students looked at hand-colored albumen photo albums and lantern slides from the Early Photography of Japan collections. Many of these photographs were sold as souvenirs to Western tourists during the Meiji period. Other highlights included 歷世風俗女裝沿革圖考 : Rekisei fūzoku josō enkakuzu kō), published in 1900 by Ishimoto Shūen, a series of fine drawings and notations about historical fashion trends in Japan, which he researched from old books and paintings; 餓鬼草, a facsimile of Hungry Ghost scroll, which is a national treasure in Japan; and夷酋圖 : 夷酋十二人圖像: Ishūretsuzō zu, an accordion style book of Ainu portraits published between 1826 – 1830.
Students marveled at the hand-coloring techniques on albumen prints. The practice of hand-coloring photographs was introduced in Europe during the 1840s, but later perfected by Japanese artists.
They were also thrilled to handle these historical materials. One student said as she was leaving, “I don’t want to wash my hands!” We value tactile experience with viewing these materials, and it makes us happy to see students appreciating their hands-on experiences with our collections.
Stay tuned for future posts highlighting some of these Special Collections.
