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 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.
Time Period Covered: 1909
Sub-collections
Published: February 01, 2011, University of Vermont, Bailey/Howe Library, Special Collections
Rights: Requests to reproduce this item should be sent to the UVM Libraries' Center for Digital Initiatives at cdi@uvm.edu. For more information, see http://cdi.uvm.edu/about/rights.
Browse Options
Creator(s)
- Wolcott, Katherine [130]
Place(s)
- Japan [115]
- LifestylesJapan [60]
- Clothing and dressJapan [51]
- PeasantsJapan [24]
- PoorJapan [21]
- ArchitectureJapan [17]
- DwellingsJapan [13]
- RiversJapan [12]
- FlowersJapan [8]
- Musical instrumentsJapan [8]
- Buddhist shrinesJapan [6]
- MusicJapan [6]
- Women musiciansJapan [6]
- Fuji, Mount (Japan) [5]
- GardensJapan [4]
- SwordsJapan [4]
- CastlesJapan [3]
- ParksJapan [3]
- PatriotismJapan [3]
- FestivalsJapan [2]
- GamesJapan [2]
- ArcheryJapan [1]
- ArmorJapan [1]
- FlagsJapan [1]
Format(s)
- image [130]
Genre(s)
- photographs [129]
- photomechanical prints [129]
- photograph albums [1]
Topic(s)
- Lifestyles [54]
- Clothing and dress [46]
- Women [36]
- Peasants [23]
- Poor [22]
- Buddhist shrines [8]
- Flowers [8]
- Musical instruments [8]
- Religion [7]
- Women musicians [6]
- Cities and towns [4]
- Landscape photography [4]
- Patriotism [4]
- Boats and boating [3]
- Buddhist monks [3]
- Castles [3]
- Festivals [3]
- Gardens [3]
- Music [3]
- Pedicab drivers [3]
- Rickshaw men [3]
- Russo-Japanese War, 1904-1905 [3]
- Games [2]
- Parades [2]
- Swords [2]
- Archery [1]
- Armor [1]
- Capital punishment [1]
- Charms [1]
- Criminals [1]
- Flags [1]
- Parks [1]
- Portrait photography [1]
- River boats [1]
- Shinto priests [1]
- Shinto vestments [1]
- Souvenirs (Keepsakes) [1]
- Transportation [1]
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Title: Street vendor with small pipes on display
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
Title: Sword sharpener practicing his trade
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
Title: Tea house with waitresses
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
Judging by the large quantity of women present in the building, this residence is most likely a tea-house or establishment catering to entertaining men.
Title: Temple in the Japanese countryside
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
Title: Temple walkway lined with stalls and vendors
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
Title: The entrance to a rural shrine
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
Title: The severed heads of criminals at a watch post
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
Title: The streets of Kyoto
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
The streets are filled with people, American and Japanese flags flying from buildings. In the background, you can see an advertisement for Kirin beer, written in both Katakana and English. On the streets, there are men dressed in the more traditional clothing as well as men dressed in western appearing clothing.
Title: The streets of Yokohama
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
The streets are lined with ornamentation to celebrate a Japanese victory over the Russians in the Russo-Japanese war.
Title: The town of Hakone
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
Title: Three basket weavers at work
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
Title: Three children standing in a garden
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
Title: Three men carrying a woman in a palanquin
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
Title: Three people bathing
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
Communal bathing was not uncommon during the early 20th century. It was often done together as a family, especially in the countryside.
Title: Three street vendors taking a break
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
One of the street vendors is selling pipes.There is a large selection of them behind the man in the middle of the picture.
Title: Three travelers walking down a country road
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
Title: Three women bathing
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
Title: Two Ainu posing in traditional attire
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
Title: Two Sumo wrestlers
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
The belt of cloth, usually silk, worn by the men is known as a "Mawashi" in Japanese.
Title: Two Sumo wrestlers locked in a grapple
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
The under garment worn by Sumo Wrestlers is known as the "Mawashi".
Title: Two carpenters
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
Title: Two female musicians
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
The woman on the left is playing a Koto, while the woman on the right is playing a Shamisen.
Title: Two female performers
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
The woman on the right is holding a Shamisen, while the woman on the left is posed in a position as if she were about to begin dancing.
Title: Two hand draw masks
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
These two faces look akin to common "Mempo", the masks worn by samurai to guard the face. The coloration, and fierce facial expressions, are remarkably similar.
Title: Two men attired as Samurai playing Shogi
Creator: Wolcott, Katherine
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: photomechanical prints
Judging by their hairstyles and the manner in which they are dressed, the two men are either of Samurai heritage or imitating men of such. They are playing Shogi, a Japanese board game similar in quality and manner to Chess.
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