A Publication of the Peabody Museum and the Harvard

Before the invention of photography, the written and spoken word and artistic representation passed on the traditions of Japanese culture. The opening of Japan to international trade in 1854 and the Meiji Restoration in 1868 resulted in rapid modernization and profound cultural changes in Japanese life. At this time, the West brought with it the technology of photography ironically to record the traditions that were vanishing as a result of Western influence. By the turn of the century, Japan had evolved from an insular country to an industrialized power. Its photographic record from the mid-to-late 1800s thus represents a timely encounter with a culture . The daguerreotype process heralded the beginning of photography in 1839. Technical innovations rapidly followed, making photography a less complicated science and more accessible to both Continued on page 13