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Landscapes in Old Photos and Ukiyo-e Prints
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About this collection
Mountains, seas, rivers and highways, from late Edo woodblock prints to Meiji photographs. These are views from a time before plastic, when electric light had not yet reached the edges of towns or the countryside.
Fishing Fires and Riverside Lanterns
Cormorant fishing, seen in "Cormorant Boats on the Nagara River, Gifu," is usually done at night by the light of fire baskets (this photo was taken by day). In "Arashiyama," a lantern stands by the river. At night, the edges of towns and villages without streetlights were far darker than today, and people probably relied on fires like these.
Lanterns That Guided Travelers
In "Fork of the Akiha Road, Kakegawa," lanterns large and small line the fork in the road. Along the roads to Mount Akiha, many all-night lanterns were built to double as signposts. In "Seki," too, a lantern stands beside the great torii on the highway.
Telegraph Lines Across the Fields
In "Sudden Shower on the Field Road, Akasaka," from 1875, telegraph poles and wires run along a straight road through the rice fields. Tokyo and Nagasaki were linked by telegraph in 1873. Electric lighting reached 70 percent of households in 1922.
Based on the National Diet Library's catalog records and our notes on each image.Published
Old photos: 75 · Woodblock prints: 85
