Photographs of Old Japan
These pictures, the work of several different photographers,1 were assembled by a pair of collectors named Henry and Nancy Rosin. They were originally shot in black and white, then hand-coloured by artists — a technique common at the time. All were taken between the years 1860-1900, meaning the earliest of them just predates the Meiji Restoration, when the last shōgun still ruled Japan.
I visited the Daibutsu statue in Kamakura a long time again. I remember thinking at the time that for the rest of my life it would also be there, sitting. These photos were taken long before then, between 1860-1900.