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...
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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 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.
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Additional Content
Pages
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Title: A man and five women diningCreator: Wolcott, Katherine.Date: 1909The gathered group of people appear to be eating either Udon or Soba noodles. The gender ratio is somewhat perplexing, but can most likely be attributed to the artificial nature of the picture.
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Title: Fan crafter with a customerCreator: Wolcott, Katherine.Date: 1909There are two main types of fans in this man's shop. The folding fan - known as the "Sensu," and the hand fan - known as the "Uchiwa." more
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Title: Five women on a benchCreator: Wolcott, Katherine.Date: 1909Five women, dressed in elegant kimono's, sit astride a wooden bench. The picture is hand colored. more
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Title: Four women picking plantsCreator: Wolcott, Katherine.Date: 1909It looks like the women are picking tea leaves. Less labor intensive then traditional rice farming, but still a difficult job.
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Title: Four women preparing a mealCreator: Wolcott, Katherine.Date: 1909The four women are engaged in various tasks. The woman on the farthest left is grinding something within her bowl, while the woman to her right is dicing a radish. The two women on the right are tending a fire.
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Title: Tea house with waitressesCreator: Wolcott, Katherine.Date: 1909Judging by the large quantity of women present in the building, this residence is most likely a tea-house or establishment catering to entertaining men.
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Title: Three people bathingCreator: Wolcott, Katherine.Date: 1909Communal bathing was not uncommon during the early 20th century. It was often done together as a family, especially in the countryside.