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 1 - 9 of 9 Records

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9 1909
Miniature of Two hand draw masks
Two hand draw masks
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    • Date Created: 1909
    • Description: These two faces look akin to common "Mempo", the masks worn by samurai to guard the face. The coloration, and fierce facial expressions, are remarkably similar.
    • Parent Collections: A Tourist's Album of Japan, Album of Japanese Photographs
    Miniature of Elderly man with a bow
    Elderly man with a bow
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      • Date Created: 1909
      • Description: An elderly man is posing in a clan kimono with a "Yumi" (Bow) in his left hand. The bareness of his left arm suggests that the man is a practitioner of "Kyudo" (Japanese Zen Archery).
      • Parent Collections: A Tourist's Album of Japan, Album of Japanese Photographs
      Miniature of Samurai posing in a sitting position
      Samurai posing in a sitting position
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        • Date Created: 1909
        • Description: A hand colored picture of a Samurai posing for a picture, fully garbed in armor.
        • Parent Collections: A Tourist's Album of Japan, Album of Japanese Photographs
        Miniature of A rural Samurai
        A rural Samurai
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          • Date Created: 1909
          • Description: The Samurai in this picture is wearing a straw raincoat in addition to his swords and clothing.
          • Parent Collections: A Tourist's Album of Japan, Album of Japanese Photographs
          Miniature of Two men attired as Samurai playing Shogi
          Two men attired as Samurai playing Shogi
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            • Date Created: 1909
            • Description: Judging by their hairstyles and the manner in which they are dressed, the two men are either of Samurai heritage or imitating men of such. They are playing Shogi, a Japanese board game similar in quality and manner to Chess.
            • 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 An elderly man getting his hair styled
              An elderly man getting his hair styled
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                • Date Created: 1909
                • Description: It looks as if the man is getting his hair pulled back into the traditional Samurai hairstyle of the top knot (Chonmage).
                • Parent Collections: A Tourist's Album of Japan, Album of Japanese Photographs
                Miniature of Samurai bowing before their lord
                Samurai bowing before their lord
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                  • Date Created: 1909
                  • Description: The important figure is stepping into a palanquin, about to be carried to his destination by his bodyguards.
                  • Parent Collections: A Tourist's Album of Japan, Album of Japanese Photographs
                  Miniature of People viewing a statue of a Samurai
                  People viewing a statue of a Samurai
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                    • Date Created: 1909
                    • Parent Collections: A Tourist's Album of Japan, Album of Japanese Photographs