Cherry blossoms at night in Maruyama, the Aoi Festival in May, the Jidai Festival in October. Kyoto Meishocho ("Album of Famous Places in Kyoto") is about more than sightseeing spots: it also has photos of the city's festivals and events. This photo album was published in June 1907 (Meiji 40) by the Kyoto-shi Sanjikai, the city's executive board at the time.
We have 42 of its photos on our site. The album starts at the Imperial Palace and moves on to temples and shrines, festivals, the traditional arts and handicrafts. Here are six, in album order, with a look at the words in their titles.
Gosho (Imperial Palace), Kyoto
The first title is just two characters: "Gosho," the Imperial Palace. At the far end of a wide road lined with pines, the palace buildings sit low in the distance. From here, the album goes on to Inari, Sanjusangendo and Kiyomizudera.
Make a wallpaper from this photo (Gosho (Imperial Palace), Kyoto)
Cherry Blossoms at Night, Maruyama
The title, "Maruyama Yozakura," means cherry blossoms at night in Maruyama. In the photo, crowds of people sit on the open ground around a big tree. In a run of photos of famous places, this is the only title that names a time of day and a season.
Make a wallpaper from this photo (Cherry Blossoms at Night, Maruyama)
The Incline at Keage
In the title "Keage Incline," the English word "incline" is written in katakana, the script used for foreign words. The incline, built in 1889 (Meiji 22), was a sloped railway that carried boats up and down the hill on wheeled carts. When it was built, it was the longest of its kind in the world. In the photo, boats are moored in a row along the bank of the canal. The rails are still there today, and in spring you can walk along the track between rows of cherry trees in bloom.
Jidai Festival
After a trip out to Arashiyama and Uji, the album sets out three photos under the heading "Three Great Festivals": the Aoi Festival, the Jidai Festival and the Gion Festival. This one is the Jidai Festival: a procession with big banners and people on horseback. The Jidai Festival was first held in 1895 (Meiji 28), to celebrate 1,100 years since the capital was moved to Heian-kyo, today's Kyoto. It still takes place every year on October 22.
Geisha Dancing the Miyako Odori
After the festivals, the titles run on in two characters each: "Miyako Odori" (the Miyako dances), "Gasso" (playing music together), "Ikebana" (flower arranging) and "Chanoyu" (the tea ceremony). In "Miyako Odori," dancers in matching kimono stand in a line on a stage hung with lanterns.
Make a wallpaper from this photo (Geisha Dancing the Miyako Odori)
Embroiderers at Work
The last two photos are "Orimono" (Weaving) and "Shishu" (Embroidery). In "Shishu," people bend over their embroidery frames in a long, narrow workshop, with light coming in through the windows.
It's an album meant to guide you around Kyoto's famous places, yet it ends with two photos of people at work. You can see every photo in the album, including those not shown here, on its full list page.
