A Tourist's Album of Japan

Katherine Wolcott and her uncle, Robert Hull Fleming, compiled this photo album on their visit to Japan in 1909. Part of a larger Asian trip, the two stopped in Japan and collected photos, postcards, bookmarks, and other materials. Fleming was a graduate of the University of Vermont, and in 1929 Katherine Wolcott helped to fund the construction of the Robert Hull Fleming Museum in memory of her late uncle. This album, a memento from their trip, was part of Wolcott’s own collection. There are nearly 40 leaves of collected photographs and postcards, numbering two to three per album page. The pictures range in content, some depicting staged photos of daily life while others portray landscapes and countryside. The album itself measures approximately 11 x 14 x 4 inches and is currently housed at the Robert Hull Fleming Museum at the University of Vermont. Wolcott’s album captures a unique view of Japan at the brink of burgeoning Western influence. After defeating the Russians in the Russo Japanese War (1904-05), Japan began to cement itself as a global power, and its efforts to modernize began to attract Westerners. The images in this album depict a Japan with a strong national heritage and cultural appreciation as well as a newfound embrace of modernization and technology. Most of the pictures in the album sold commercially as a form of postcard. In the early 1900s, the Japanese populace began consuming millions of these types of commercially produced picture postcards. Eventually, the medium became so popular that it started to replace the more traditional wood block print. The citizenry sought pictures of their budding nation, wanting to hold a still image of the rapidly modernizing and changing countryside.

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Showing 61 - 70 of 115 Records

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115 still image

115 1909
Miniature of Female musician with koto and Ōtsuzumi
Female musician with koto and Ōtsuzumi
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    • Date Created: 1909
    • Description: The instrument leaning against the wall behind the woman is a Koto. The drum she is holding and the one laying on the floor next to her are ≈åtsuzumi.
    • Parent Collections: A Tourist's Album of Japan, Album of Japanese Photographs
    Miniature of An umbrella street vendor
    An umbrella street vendor
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      • Date Created: 1909
      • Description: The woman is either repairing or crafting a series of umbrellas.
      • Parent Collections: A Tourist's Album of Japan, Album of Japanese Photographs
      Miniature of Temple walkway lined with stalls and vendors
      Temple walkway lined with stalls and vendors
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        • Date Created: 1909
        • Parent Collections: A Tourist's Album of Japan, Album of Japanese Photographs
        Miniature of A public park
        A public park
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          • Date Created: 1909
          • Description: What appears to be the entrance to a public park. If you look closely, you can detect the mixing of cultures. Some men wear the traditional robe, but also don a western hat.
          • Parent Collections: A Tourist's Album of Japan, Album of Japanese Photographs
          Miniature of The entrance to a rural shrine
          The entrance to a rural shrine
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            • Date Created: 1909
            • Parent Collections: A Tourist's Album of Japan, Album of Japanese Photographs
            Miniature of A charm to protect against fire
            A charm to protect against fire
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              • Date Created: 1909
              • Description: The charm was created to protect the bearer from fire. On the marker, it says Jadaiji temple, which may be the Jindaiji temple in Tokyo.
              • Parent Collections: A Tourist's Album of Japan, Album of Japanese Photographs
              Miniature of A man paying homage to two Buddhist statues
              A man paying homage to two Buddhist statues
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                • Date Created: 1909
                • Parent Collections: A Tourist's Album of Japan, Album of Japanese Photographs
                Miniature of Fortified castle in the countryside
                Fortified castle in the countryside
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                  • Date Created: 1909
                  • Parent Collections: A Tourist's Album of Japan, Album of Japanese Photographs
                  Miniature of Men practicing Kendo
                  Men practicing Kendo
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                    • Date Created: 1909
                    • Description: The men here are depicted in full Kendo gear. Their armor and swords are designed to be used in practice against one another without causing harm. However, the mat/stage upon which the main subject of the picture stands could not serve as a ground to hold a Kendo match, as it is much too small.
                    • Parent Collections: A Tourist's Album of Japan, Album of Japanese Photographs
                    Miniature of Tea house with waitresses
                    Tea house with waitresses
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                      • Date Created: 1909
                      • Description: Judging by the large quantity of women present in the building, this residence is most likely a tea-house or establishment catering to entertaining men.
                      • Parent Collections: A Tourist's Album of Japan, Album of Japanese Photographs