The Re-Envisioning Japan collection began in 2000 with a search for photographic images of early 20th century Japan that might bring the landscape and life of that period into sharper focus. As a result, postcards from the 1900s - 1930s that were readily available through online auctions seeded the collection. I was originally drawn to postcards as visual records of place but soon came to appreciate the many ways that they connect us to the past. Postcards are a versatile format. They encompass a variety of subgenres: snapshot news communications; souvenirs of events, people, and places; casual greetings, pen pal exchanges, or missives that are deeply personal. At least seventeen subgenres make up this object category in this collection, roughly falling into the border-crossing threads that characterize this project: e.g., tourism and travel (hotels, transportation, destinations); visual records of Japan’s presence at international and domestic expositions and exhibitions; advertising, leisure, and entertainment; social work, edification, and information; commemorative events, propaganda, and nationalistic sentiment of both foreign and domestic origin (glimpses of Japan’s rising profile in the international world order). These categories are only examples of the rich diversity that characterizes this mode of communication. Many of these postcards replicate established photographic genres, such as social “types” or prominent tourist locations emblematic of Japan; these in particular might have been collected as souvenirs. Others are notable for their personal messages, reminding us of the days when the postcard was ubiquitous as a global unit of personal communication.
We'll Blow the Jap off the Map! (JC9)
Greetings from U.S. to U (JC5)
Keep 'Em Flying!
Aerial Rail Road Hiei Mt.
A Pillar of Black Smoke Rose in to the Sky, Mt. Aso
Akashi Beach, Harima near Kobe
Japanese Garden, Clear Water, Fla. (1939)
Japanese Tea Garden at Coronado, Cal.
Military Postcard (gunji yūbin), Victory Celebration
Kyoto zoo
Ohara Woman, Kyoto
Japan Tourist Bureau (Yokohama Office)
MInistry of War postcard with Yasukuni Shrine commemorative stamp (27 April 1935)
The Allied Powers
Little Miss Yo San (1922)
S.S. Chiyo Maru, Public Garden at Takamatsu
S.S. Chiyo Maru, Ancient Daimyo
S.S. Chiyo Maru, The Torii and the Futaarasan Temple, Nikko
The Wonderful Sight of Tozinbo at Echizen
The Wonderful Sight of Tozinbo at Echizen
The Wonderful Sight of Tozinbo at Echizen
The Wonderful Sight of Tozinbo at Echizen
The Wonderful Sight of Tozinbo at Echizen
The Wonderful Sight of Tozinbo at Echizen
The Wonderful Sight of Tozinbo at Echizen
Togetsu Bridge, Kyoto
Mitsukoshi Dept-store viewed from Nihonbashi (Great Tokyo)
Just a Little Something to Remember Pearl Harbor! (JC6)
Two of a Kind! (JC10)
Japanese Garden of a California Home
Sanbashi to Zeikan Tsuruga (Tsuruga Meishō)
Our Japanese Sweetheart
[Young girl in pink kimono]
Moji Harbor
Shōkyokusai Tenkatsu
The Lake-Side Hotel
Multiple Babies
Japan Tea, An Ideal Health Builder
50th Anniversary of the Imperial Rescript on Education (1940)
River Hotsu, Kyoto
The Head Office of the South Manchurian Railway Co., Dairen
Map of the Special Military Exercises of 1909
Cherry-blossoms Gion at Kyoto
Envelope, The Top of Mt. Fuji postcard set
Kurishima Sumiko
The Japan Rhine
The Japan Rhine
Under Two Flags
Japanese Musicians
The Grand Sight of Sanjo Street Where the Several Shops and Company Arranged
Beppu Hot Springs
Beppu Hot Springs
Beppu
Beppu Hot Springs
Beppu Hot Springs
Beppu Hot Springs
Beppu Hot Springs
Beppu Hot Springs
Beppu Hot Springs
Beppu Hot Springs
Beppu Hot Springs
Beppu Hot Springs
Usa Jingu and Famous Grotto
Beppu Hot Springs
Beppu Hot Springs
The Nihonbashi Bridge
The Mitsukoshi Dept. Store, Nihonbashi; The Takashimaya Dept. Store, Nihonbashi; the Nihonbashi Bridge
The Ginza Main Street; Kabukiza Theatre, Tokyo
G.H.Q Building, Tokyo
Thanks to Our Soldiers
Kiyoshikōin Seichō-ji, Takarazuka
General Nogi (Count Nogi Maresuke)
The Graveyard of the late Gen. Nogi at Aoyama
The Residence of the late Gen. Nogi
Foreign delegates in the procession (6)
Flowers sent by the foreign envoys (1)
The late Gen. Nogi's Corpse drawn by soldiers & his loved horses (4)
Flowers sent by H.I.M. The Emperor (2)
The late Mme. Nogi (5)
British navy officer's carrying the late Gen. Nogi's Decorations (8)
Navy and army officers in the procession (7)
Picture of movies, taking a still of Sessue Hayakawa, Antioch
Child and hand mirror (1905)
Sanjusangen-do at Kyoto
Woman and Child (S. Chiostri)
Ryōgokubashi and Kokugikan
Our Army Captured Takubokujo
The Russian fleet was destroyed by the Japanese fleet at Port Arthur
The Rear Attack of Port Arthur
Russia Man-of-War in Port
Japanese Garden, Clemison Park, Middletown, N.Y.
The Restorative Asakusa Rokku, Tokyo Famous Places of Social Amusements
Rokkakudo, Kyoto
The Great Buddha Kamakura Japan
Die berühmten japanischen Original-Equilibristen J.F. Namba (J.F. Namba Acting Troupe)
The Matsuzakaya Department Store at Ueno, Tokyo
Japanese Priest
A Japanese Game
Sunrise in Japan
Afternoon Tea
Japanese SDF Air Force
Which will arrive first? (Insurance ad)
Two samurai and a merchant
Three samurai before a castle
Young samurai with pole
Samurai striking with sword
[Two young girls]
The Japanese Garden, Allenwood Inn on Lake Champlain Burlington, Vermont
Harry Smith
Japanese Gardens, Como Park, St. Paul, Minn.
Japan - Children with Friendship Dolls
In the Japanese Gardens - Pavilion of Japan and Formosa (San Diego, 1915-1917)
On Board S.S. Mongolia, Mt. Fuji, Japan
On Board S.S. Manchuria, Temple Gate, Japan
On Board S.S. Manchuria, Wisteria Arbor, Japan
Sarusawa Pond, Nara
Tokyo Station (Great Tokyo)
In the Gardens of Fair Japan (Japan-British Exhibition, London, 1910)
Japanese Garden and Pavilion, A Century of Progress, Chicago (1933)
Japanese Village (The Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, 1909)
Dairen Hospital Noted for its Well Equipment
Daibutsu (Great Buddha) on the route of the Northwest Orient Express
Ninnaji Omuro, Kyoto
Asakusa Amusement Park (Greater Tokyo)
Nakamura Utaemon V and Onoe Baikō VI in the Kabuki play Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety (Imperial Theater, Nov. 1916)
Envelope for Great-Nagoya postcard set
Mrs. Hayakawa in A Tokio Siren
The Mibu Farce, Kyoto
Night view of Ginza
The 10th Anniversary of the Shinkansen
Women Divers at Work
A View of Rokku of Asakusa Park
Senju Bridge (between Fukagawa and Nihonbashi)
The Yasukuni Shrine in Kudan
The Main Temple of Asakusa Kwannon
Subway
Nogi Villa (Akasaka)
Hibiya Park
Sixth District of Asakusa Park (Asakusa Entertainment Center)
Eitai Bridge (Fukagawa)
Ueno Station
Meiji Shrine
Matsuya Department Store and Seibu Train Line Asakusa Station
Meiji Memorial Picture Gallery, Meiji Shrine Gaien (Outer Precinct)
Matsuzakaya Department Store
Diet Building
Kabuki-za
Zōjō-ji
Sakuradamon Gate
Ryōgoku Kokugikan (Ryōgoku Sumo Hall)
Shiba Tōshōgu Shrine
Yasukuni Shrine
Nijūbashi, The Imperial Palace
Ginza Street
Nakamise and Niōmon Gate (in Asakusa Park)
The Zoological Garden (Ueno Park)
Imperial University
Bronze Statue of Saigō Takamori (in Ueno Park)
Bronze Statue of Kusunoki Masashige (in front of the Imperial Palace)
Tombs of the Loyal Forty-Seven Rōnin
Kyōritsu Women's Vocational School commemorative postcard (1907)
Hakubutsukan, Kyoto
Kyoto Great Exhibition Commemorating Emperor Shōwa's Enthronement
Japanische Schönheiten (Japanese Beauties)
Tsukiko Sazanami, Akiko Hisami, Mitsuko Baisho
Itsukushima
Kiyomizdu Temple, Kyoto
Kinkakuji, Kyoto
Sea Bathing in Kashiwazaki Bay (Famous Sites of Kashiwazaki)
Hostess and Guests at Tea Ceremony
Japan, Man-of-War
Stewardesses
Natsukawa Shizue
The Daibutsu at Kamakura and Nikko Temples
The Cha-no-yu or Tea Ceremony and The Odori - A Dramatic Dance
Peace commemorative postcard (July 1, 1919)
Kasuga-okuyama (Nara) commemorative postcard
Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, Japanese Gardens of Mr. and Mrs. Michael Warner
First Class Transportation in Japan
Spinning Cotton
Sunrise from Daikanbo, Volcano Aso
Kusasenri Pasturage from Volcano Mt. Aso
Autumn of Mt. Neko, Volcano Mt. Aso
Mt. Aso in Still Active
Fog in Frozen Over Volcano Mt. Aso
Kusasenri Pass, Volcano Mt. Aso
Crater of Volcano Mt. Aso
Entrance to Shinto Shrine, Naha, Okinawa
Steps to Shinto Shrine, Naha, Okinawa
Naha Park and Shrine, Okinawa
Bailey Bridges, Okinawa
Great Tokyo Post Cards Envelope
The night of Kyoto
Gojio Bridge, Kyoto
The Silver Pavilion, Kyoto
Howdy! from Deep in the Heart of Texas (Bound for Tokyo)
Ginkakuji Garden, Kyoto
First Shanghai Incident (Jan. - March, 1932)
The View from a Bed Room Kanaya Hotel, Nikko
Hirose Bazar, Hamano-machi, Nagasaki
The Kyosubashi Bridge, The Asakusa Main Street, The Subway, Tokyo
Shijo Daimarufukin, Kyoto
Triumphant Military Review, 1906
Commodore Matthew C. Perry
Big Cherrytree, Maruyama Kyoto
Japanese Village, Wonderland, Revere Beach, Mass.
Kurishima Sumiko (The Peacock's Lament)
Tanaka Kinuyo (promotional still)
Takamine Hideko (promotional still)
Benten Kozō Kikunosuke
Promotional Still, Takarazuka Revue
Promotional Still, Takarazuka Revue
Promotional Still, Takarazuka Revue
Promotional Still, Takarazuka Revue
Japanese Tea Garden, Ocean View Park, VA
National Park, Mt. Daisen
National Park, Mt. Daisen
National Park, Mt. Daisen
National Park, Mt. Daisen
National Park, Mt. Daisen
National Park, Mt. Daisies
National Park, Mt. Daisen
Bundles for Hirohito (Tagged for Tokyo)
The Shishinden of Imperial Palace, Kyoto
Shouts of Bon Voyage! and Cascades of Paper Ribbons Mingle as N.Y. K. Ship Departs
Yasuka Hikōkibu advertisement
Sapporo Beer advertisement
Mitsukoshi Department Store
A Scene from Resurrection (Tolstoy)
A Scene from Resurrection (Tolstoy)
Japan Tea Hall at A Century of Progress, Tea Girls in Native Costumes (Chicago, 1933)
Headquarters, Far East Air Forces, Tokyo, Japan
Envelope, Mt. Fuji postcard set
Cormorant Fishing on River Nagara
Japanese Gardens, Clearwater, Belleair, Florida
Nara Park, popularly known as Deer Park
Zojoji Temple, Tokyo
Nikko Shrine: Yomeimon Gate
Winter Sports
Those Japs will soon be Slap-Happy! (JC3)
Putting the Heel in the Right Place! (JC8)
The Bird For the Job! (JC4)
Boy! Will We Land Them Japs on their AXIS! (JC1)
Skating in Nikko from December to February (Nikko-Kanaya Hotel)
Russo-Japanese Peace Commission in Conference at Portsmouth Navy Yard U.S.A., August 1905 (Peace Commission Post Card
Japan (The Allies Series K2), 1914
Nikko National Park: Sacred Bridge
Star Festival
Noh Plays
Musician Playing
Snow Country
Philco Series (Many Happy Returns), 1910
North Japan College (Tohoku Gakuin) and Dormitory, Sendai Japan
