The 350 old and rare images in this book, many of them published here for the first time, not only chronicle the introduction of photography in Japan, but also demonstrate that early photographic images of Japan are vital in helping to understand the dramatic changes that occurred in mid-nineteenth century Japan. Taken between 1853 and 1912 by the most important local and foreign photographers working in Japan, the photographic images, whether sensational or everyday, intimate or panoramic, document a nation about to abandon its traditional ways and enter the modern age.
