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.
Show less
Additional Content
Pages
- Title
- Sword sharpener practicing his trade
- Date Created
- 1909
- Title
- Temple in the Japanese countryside
- Date Created
- 1909
- Title
- Temple walkway lined with stalls and vendors
- Date Created
- 1909
- Title
- Three basket weavers at work
- Date Created
- 1909
- Title
- Three men carrying a woman in a palanquin
- Date Created
- 1909
- Title
- Three people bathing
- Date Created
- 1909
- Description
-
Communal bathing was not uncommon during the early 20th century. It was often done together as a family, especially in the countryside.
- Title
- Three street vendors taking a break
- Date Created
- 1909
- Description
-
One of the street vendors is selling pipes.There is a large selection of them behind the man in the middle of the picture.
- Title
- Three travelers walking down a country road
- Date Created
- 1909
- Title
- Three women bathing
- Date Created
- 1909
- Title
- The town of Hakone
- Date Created
- 1909
- Title
- Two carpenters
- Date Created
- 1909
- Title
- Two hand draw masks
- 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.
- Title
- Two Sumo wrestlers
- Date Created
- 1909
- Description
-
The belt of cloth, usually silk, worn by the men is known as a "Mawashi" in Japanese.
- Title
- Two women and a child siting below Sakura Trees
- Date Created
- 1909
- Description
-
A small Gazebo structure appears behind the women.
- Title
- Two women getting water at a well
- Date Created
- 1909
- Title
- An umbrella street vendor
- Date Created
- 1909
- Description
-
The woman is either repairing or crafting a series of umbrellas.
- Title
- Victory celebration after the Japanese- Russo War
- Date Created
- 1909
- Description
-
The picture presents an interesting merging of Japanese and Western culture. The clothing, advertising, and signs point to the presence of western influence in the city.
- Title
- A view of Yokohama
- Date Created
- 1909
- Title
- Woman practicing on a kokyu
- Date Created
- 1909
- Description
-
The large instrument, known as a Kokyu, is spread out to its full length in this picture.
- Title
- Woman working at a loom
- Date Created
- 1909