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1Pick
Go to "Make a wallpaper" and pick the old photo or woodblock print you want. You can search by name, place, or era.
You can also take your time browsing Old Photos or Ukiyo-e Prints, then start from the button on any page (like "Make a wallpaper from this photo").For example, photos like these
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2Style
Choose a phone (iPhone or Android) or a computer, then your model. If you don't know your model, "Not sure" is fine.
Next, choose a design (Kinari, Midori, Sumi, Byobu, or Photo). You can change the text weight and move the title, photo, and source credit under "Fine-tune". The preview on screen is exactly the wallpaper you'll save. -
3Save
Check the box to agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, then press "Save". It's saved to the device you're using, sized for the device you chose. No sign-up needed.
It also shows up in Community, where others can use it as a starting point for their own. (If you wrote your own title, it shows up after the site owner checks it.) Need another size later? Choose again on the wallpaper's page and save.
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After saving, set it as your wallpaper
Now set the saved image as your wallpaper. Setting names and locations vary a little by device and OS version.
- iPhone
- The saved image goes to the Photos app. In the Settings app, go to Wallpaper, add a new wallpaper, and choose that photo. You can also open the image in Photos, tap the Share button, and choose "Use as Wallpaper".
- Android
- Open the image in an app like Photos or Gallery, then choose "Set as wallpaper" or similar from the menu (︙). Names and locations vary by model.
- Computer
- On Windows, go to Settings > Personalization > Background and choose the saved image. On a Mac, go to System Settings > Wallpaper and add the saved image.
If the lock screen clock covers the text, go to the wallpaper's page and use "Adjust the layout and make your own" to move the text or photo, then save again.
FAQ
Photos, prints, and copyright
- Is it OK to use old photos and woodblock prints? What about copyright?
This site only uses photos and woodblock prints whose copyright has expired. We pick them from items the National Diet Library lists as "available online (copyright expired)", and check each one before adding it.
Photos and prints whose copyright has expired are free for anyone to use (public domain). Still, please keep the source credit so people know where they came from.
Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs also has an online checker (in Japanese) for working out when a photo's copyright ends.
- Can I use these old photos and prints in my own work?
Yes, you can.
The old photos and woodblock prints here are published by the National Diet Library as public domain, with their copyright expired. You can use them in your own illustrations, designs, videos, and more, without asking permission.That said, people, buildings, or signs in them may involve other rights, like publicity or trademark rights. If you use them for anything besides wallpapers, such as print or products, check for yourself (Terms of Use, Section 4).
Images saved from this site include the source credit. You may not share them with the credit removed (Terms of Use, Section 6). If you want to edit an image for your own work, use the original from National Diet Library Digital Collections. Even then, adding the source, like the item title, lets people know where it came from.
- What are nishiki-e, and how are they related to ukiyo-e?
Nishiki-e are ukiyo-e woodblock prints made by layering many colors. They spread around 1765 (Meiwa 2) through Suzuki Harunobu and others.
The name means "brocade pictures," because they're as colorful as brocade fabric.An artist drew the design, a carver cut the woodblocks, and a printer printed each color in layers. Publishers sold the prints, and they were popular souvenirs of Edo (today's Tokyo).
Many show famous places around Japan, like Utagawa Hiroshige's series of famous views, and people enjoyed them as a way to feel like they were traveling.
Ukiyo-e Prints also includes a few shin-hanga (new woodblock prints from the Taisho era on) and Meiji-era lithographs printed from stone. Neither is nishiki-e. There are some hand-painted pictures too. The notes on each page say which ones.
- Can I remove the source credit from a wallpaper?
Please don't. The credit is what shows the photo is free to use (Terms of Use, Section 5).
- Why do some photos and titles use outdated language?
The photos and titles on this site are as they were when the photos were taken or published.
Some wording or content may feel inappropriate by today's standards.We show them unaltered, as historical records of the customs and daily life of the time.
There is no political or ideological intent.Because we keep them unaltered as records, we don't take them down over period wording or what they show.
- What is the National Diet Library?
It's Japan's national library. It collects books and materials published in Japan and keeps them for future generations. It has the Tokyo Main Library, the Kansai-kan, and the International Library of Children's Literature.
- Why does the National Diet Library put photos online?
It digitizes its collection and puts items online, including those whose copyright has expired, in the National Diet Library Digital Collections. So that anyone, anywhere, can use them.
The photos on this site come from there too.
Cost and use
- Does it cost anything?
No. The site is paid for by ads, such as affiliate links for books and travel.
- Can I share it on social media?
Sure. Just keep the source credit on the wallpaper. The page you see after saving has ready-made post text you can use.
- Is there anything I shouldn't do?
Things like writing titles that hurt people, saving in bulk with a program, or sharing images with the source credit removed.
We may stop people who misuse the site from saving wallpapers or photos (Terms of Use, Sections 6 and 7).
- If you just want the photo
On a photo's page in Old Photos (or a print's page in Ukiyo-e Prints), check the box to agree, then press "Save with source credit".
You'll get the photo or print with the source credit added below it.
About this site
- What is Kioku Kabegami?
It turns old photos (Meiji and Taisho eras) and woodblock prints (Edo to Meiji) from the National Diet Library, Japan, into phone and computer wallpapers. It's the first project from 3rd-Party.jp.
Just pick a photo, then choose your device and a design, and you have a wallpaper with the source credit. It's free, with no sign-up.
Saved wallpapers also show up in Community for others to use. Why not put a scene of old Japan on the screen you see every day?
- What is 3rd-Party.jp?
There's a lot of public information and material online that goes unnoticed. 3rd-Party.jp tidies it up so it's easy to find, easy to understand, and easy to use every day. Kioku Kabegami is its first project.
Being public isn't the same as being free to use. We show the difference, with the legal basis and the source.