Exhibition Outlines

Following the initial introduction of photographic technology to Japan around the middle of the 19th century, photography proceeded to spread rapidly in a short span of about twenty years. During that span, photographers sprung up across the nation. With the advent of the era known as the Meiji period, due to the value placed on their ability to record scenes in history, photographs came to be used in public activities such as keeping visual records of Imperial tours by the Meiji Emperor and of antiques from around Japan. Amid such circumstances, a photography studio was established at the Printing Bureau under the Ministry of the Treasury in 1878, which marked the commencement of photographic activities by a public institution.

The production of the "Portrait Photograph Albums" featured in this exhibition has its roots in an order issued in 1879 to the Minister of the Imperial Household by the Meiji Emperor, who sought to keep by his side a collection of portrait photographs of his subjects who he so dearly loved. With that Imperial Order having been given, under the leadership of the Imperial Household Ministry, this project was put in motion with the Printing Bureau under the Ministry of the Treasury overseeing photography and the production of the accompanying photograph albums. They exist today consisting of 39 albums in total, and contain portraits of Prince Takahito of Arisugawa as well as a total of 4,531 senior officials from government offices, including 15 members of the Imperial Family. Among those are images of individuals who strove for reform and dedicated themselves to establishing a new government, as well as individuals responsible for the modernization of Japan in various sectors, from the final years of the Edo period up through the Meiji Restoration. Moreover, 15 out of the aforementioned 39 albums contain poems by 621 individuals that are inscribed on a small Shikishi poetry card along with their portrait photographs. These are indicative of the particularities that defined the production of these albums.

In an era where there were few chances to photograph one's image, the portrait photography used to produce these albums was likely the first such experience for many individuals. It is believed that the experience of numerous senior officials of having their picture taken, regardless of what their interest in photography might have been, helped dramatically propel forward the popularization of photography in Japan.

Through this exhibition, we will introduce these albums, which have their collective place in the history of photography in Japan as a project that fulfilled a crucial role, in their entirety, as well as imagery of the individuals who supported the young Meiji Emperor and built the cornerstone of Japanese modernization.