宇和島市船大工町　伊豫釀造株式會社

About this photo

A long two-story building with a tiled roof runs along the street from the front left to the back right. Latticed windows line the second floor, and under the deep eaves on the left, round, barrel-like shapes are stacked up in many tiers. To their right is a large wheel, and people in whitish clothes stand in a row under the edge of the eaves.

The title printed under the photo reads "宇和島市船大工町　伊豫釀造株式會社" (Iyo Jozo Company, Funadaikumachi, Uwajima City). The photo appeared in a commemorative album of the joint fair of the four Uwa districts (宇和四郡聯合共進会記念写真帖), published in 1922.

Look closely at the stacked round shapes, and each one turns a bright square face toward the camera. Divided by dark gaps, the squares line up tier by tier and stand out white in the shadow under the eaves. We found nothing about this company or the neighborhood that we could confirm in official records or reference works, so we have kept to what the photo shows and its title in the album.

Glossary