A Tourist's Album of Japan
Collection Overview
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...
Show moreKatherine 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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Additional Content
Pages
- Title
- Rural children near a field
- Date Created
- 1909
- Description
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These children are playing in/around rice fields.
- Title
- Rural farmer
- Date Created
- 1909
- Description
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The man in this picture is wearing a straw raincoat, as well as the other traditional attire of a rural farmer. In his left hand, he holds a plant and what looks like a hoe. The other hand is carrying a container.
- Title
- Rural house
- Date Created
- 1909
- Title
- A rural Samurai
- Date Created
- 1909
- Description
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The Samurai in this picture is wearing a straw raincoat in addition to his swords and clothing.
- Title
- Rural town next to a river
- Date Created
- 1909
- Title
- Rural worker carrying his tools
- Date Created
- 1909
- Title
- Rural worker with reed garment
- Date Created
- 1909
- Title
- Sailboat
- Date Created
- 1909
- Title
- Samurai bowing before their lord
- Date Created
- 1909
- Description
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The important figure is stepping into a palanquin, about to be carried to his destination by his bodyguards.
- Title
- Sandal shop owner with a customer
- Date Created
- 1909
- Description
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The Japanese Sandal is known as a "Geta" and was the most common piece of footwear throughout most of Japan's history. Geta can have varying amount of pegs, or none at all. When they don't have pegs, they are sometimes known as "Zori."
- Title
- The severed heads of criminals at a watch post
- Date Created
- 1909
- Title
- Shamisen crafter with a customer
- Date Created
- 1909
- Title
- Staged rickshaw accident
- Date Created
- 1909
- Title
- Street vendor posing for a photo
- Date Created
- 1909
- Description
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A street vendor carrying his container over his shoulder. The threadbare nature of his clothing supports this conclusion. Japan's national flag is supported on the back end of his container, and a bell is dangling from his left hand.
- Title
- Street vendor with small pipes on display
- Date Created
- 1909
- Title
- The streets of Kyoto
- Date Created
- 1909
- Description
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The streets are filled with people, American and Japanese flags flying from buildings. In the background, you can see an advertisement for Kirin beer, written in both Katakana and English. On the streets, there are men dressed in the more traditional clothing as well as men dressed in western...
Show moreThe streets are filled with people, American and Japanese flags flying from buildings. In the background, you can see an advertisement for Kirin beer, written in both Katakana and English. On the streets, there are men dressed in the more traditional clothing as well as men dressed in western appearing clothing.
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- Title
- The streets of Yokohama
- Date Created
- 1909
- Description
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The streets are lined with ornamentation to celebrate a Japanese victory over the Russians in the Russo-Japanese war.
- Title
- Tea house with waitresses
- Date Created
- 1909
- Description
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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.
- Title
- Temple in the Japanese countryside
- Date Created
- 1909
- Title
- Temple walkway lined with stalls and vendors
- Date Created
- 1909