The History of JAPANESE PHOTOGRAPHY: From Samurai to Selfies

Video Description

While capturing a moment with a camera feels effortless today, it's a stark contrast to the limitations of the past. For most of human history, WORDS and ILLUSTRATIONS were our primary tools for preserving what we saw. However, the early 1800s witnessed a remarkable shift, as brilliant minds paved the way for a new method of capturing our world. In 1826, the earliest surviving photograph emerged in France, and more than a decade later, Louis Daguerre revolutionized the field with the daguerreotype, making photography more accessible and laying the foundation for its GLOBAL impact. But while photography flourished in many parts of the world during its early years, Japan had a unique historical context. The country maintained a policy of seclusion, limiting foreign influences and hindering the initial adoption of photography. However, despite these initial barriers, photography eventually managed to sneak its way past isolation policies and fears of foreign influences, quickly captivating the whole nation and forever altering how the Japanese documented their history. Today, let’s embark on a journey into the fascinating history of Japanese photography! We'll explore how this European technology made its way to Japan, uncovering its evolution as an art form, a thriving business, and a constantly developing technology, from its very beginnings to the present day. #photography #japan #history SOURCES: https://www.roningallery.com/blog/imagining-japan-early-japanese-photography-2 https://curiosity.lib.harvard.edu/early-photography-of-japan/feature/chronology-e0701b50-0537-456a-9acd-f7ea284f20ac https://danielblau.com/early-photography-in-japan https://www.kcpinternational.com/2016/05/a-short-history-of-photography-in-japan/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shimazu_Nariakira https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photography_in_Japan#:~:text=In%201857%2C%20Shimazu%20Nariakira's%20photograph,Kagoshima%2Dcity%2C%20Japan https://thomasgittel.wordpress.com/2020/12/24/top-museum-history-of-early-japanese-photography-kanto-region-images-of-japan-1853-1912/ https://visualizingcultures.mit.edu/black_ships_and_samurai_02/bss_visnav05.html https://photoguide.jp/txt/Harvey_R._Marks https://topmuseum.jp/contents/exhibition/index-3453.html https://www.geographicus.com/P/ctgy&Category_Code=browneliphaletjr https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Emperor_Meiji_Inaugurating_Yokosuka_Arsenal_Jan_1_1872_(cropped).png https://fotografie-asie.blogspot.com/2008/06/yokohama-shashin.html https://japandaily.jp/japans-rise-to-the-top-of-the-camera-world-6462/ https://scribblesandsnaps.wordpress.com/2017/06/25/made-in-japan-a-brief-history-of-the-japanese-photographic-industry/ https://shotkit.com/japanese-photographers/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Heco https://www.honolulufestival.com/archives/eng/seminar05_01.php https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_photography# https://olypedia.de/index.php?title=Zeiss https://curiosity.lib.harvard.edu/early-photography-of-japan/browse (photo source) CHAPTERS: 00:00 - Intro 01:59 - First Photo of a Japanese Person 04:34 - First Photo taken in Japan 05:34 - First Photo taken by the Japanese 07:16 - Photography becomes a Business 11:49 - Yokohama Shashin 17:36 - Into the 20th Century 20:18 - Japan’s Camera Business 23:07 - Outro