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.
[Two young girls]
A view of the Takarazuka Grand Theater
Mt. Rokko tent village
"Drink for Longevity"
(Great Tokyo City by Night) View Looking Towards Sudacho from Nihonbashi
[Addressed to Mrs. B.C. Morgan]
[Battleship]
[Children with Parasols]
[Girl on riverside]
[Ice skating]
[Music]
[Patriotic postcard]
[Seaside]
[Unidentified view]
[Young girl in pink kimono]
50th Anniversary of the Imperial Rescript on Education (1940)
A Basket Seller
A blind man
A China Shop in Kyoto
A Jap Belle (219)
A Japanese Game
A Japanese Melody (6940)
A Japanese pastor distributing tracts
A Little Jap Maid
A Majestic Summit of Rokkō (Famous Sites of Rokkō)
A Modest Supporter of the Allies - Enfant Japonais
A Pillar of Black Smoke Rose in to the Sky, Mt. Aso
A Pleasant Ride (copyright 1905)
A Scene from Resurrection (Tolstoy)
A Scene from Resurrection (Tolstoy)
A scene of the Mikoshi which is a sacred palanquin containing an emblem of Deity
A Sort of Shop Curtain
A Tokio Belle (9292)
A View of Rokku of Asakusa Park
A View of the Cable Car from the Mountaintop (Famous Sites of Rokkō)
A Village Road and House Thatched with Straw
A Water Coolie
Advertisement for rubber-soled footwear
Aerial Rail Road Hiei Mt.
Afternoon Tea
Air, Land, and Sea Forces and Yasukuni Shrine
Akan National Park
Akasaka Detached Palace (Tokyo)
Akasaka Kwannon Temple (Tokyo)
Akashi Beach, Harima near Kobe
Amanohashidate
American Wharf, Kobe
An actor who dances the Noh Play
An Etiquette Lesson - Margaret K. Long's Girls' School, Tokyo
An inner at Sengen Shrine at Mt. Fuji
Ancient Sakurada Gate (Tokyo)
Asakusa Amusement Park (Greater Tokyo)
Asakusa Business Center at Tokyo
Asakusa nakamise
Asakusa-nakamise, Tokyo
Assembly Hall of Tokyo
At Asakusa Park, Tokyo
At Asuka-Yama Hill, Tokyo
At Yasukuni Shrine, Tokyo
Autograph of Gen. U.S. Grant, still preserved in the City Hall, Nagasaki, Japan
Autumn of Mt. Neko, Volcano Mt. Aso
Azalea & Peony, Kamata Iris Garden
Azuma Bridge
Azumabashi
Bailey Bridges, Okinawa
Battle scene
Beautiful Japanese Garden located in University of Washington arboretum
Beautiful Pool Near Japanese Pagoda in Fairmont Park, PA. PH-1
Benkei Bridge, Akasaka
Benten Kozō Kikunosuke
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
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
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
Beppu Hot Springs
Beppu Spa
Big Cherrytree, Maruyama Kyoto
Box for The Great Tokyo Postcard Set
Boy! Will We Land Them Japs on their AXIS! (JC1)
British navy officer's carrying the late Gen. Nogi's Decorations (8)
Bronze Statue of Kusunoki Masashige (in front of the Imperial Palace)
Bronze Statue of Saigō Takamori (in Ueno Park)
Bundles for Hirohito (Tagged for Tokyo)
Business Center in Yokohama, Industrial Zone in Yokohama (panoramic postcard)
Cafe at Dreamland, Coney Island, N.Y. (No. 50)
Canandaigua, Japanese Pagoda
Catching-fishes
Cherry blossom and Ferry boat at Mukojima, Tokyo
Cherry blossoms, Uyeno Park, Tokyo
Cherry-blossoms Gion at Kyoto
Child and hand mirror (1905)
Children of the League of Nations - Japan
Climbing Mt. Fuji near Mt. Hoei
Coaling (Nagasaki, Coaling an American steamship)
Colorful Sun Parasols
Commemoration of Peace, July 1, 1919
Commodore Matthew C. Perry
Cormorant fishing (The Japan Rhine)
Cormorant Fishing on River Nagara
Cormorants used for fishing
Crater of Volcano Mt. Aso
Crowds in Ginza Street (Festival Commemorating the Capital City's Revival after the Great Kanto Earthquake)
Custom of Japan (envelope to postcard set)
Cutting giant butterbur plants in Akita
Daibutsu (Great Buddha) on the route of the Northwest Orient Express
Daibutsu at Kamakura
Daibutsu in Kamakura
Daibutsu, Kamakura
Daibutsu, Kamakura
Dairen
Dairen Hospital Noted for its Well Equipment
Dear Little Japanese (1908)
Der Sieger im Reiche der Mitte (1901)
Die berühmten japanischen Original-Equilibristen J.F. Namba (J.F. Namba Acting Troupe)
Diet Building
Distant View of Lake Hakone
Dragon's Gorge, Revere Beach, Mass.
Drying radishes an old man basking in the sun
Eidai Bridge
Eitai Bridge (Fukagawa)
Emergency System
Emperor and Empress Meiji (Mutsuhito and Shōken) against an illustration of Meiji Shrine
Emperor and Empress Taishō
Emperor and Empress Taishō
Emperor and Empress Taishō (Yoshihito and Teimei)
Emperor and Empress Taishō (Yoshihito and Teimei)
Emperor Meiji Burial Site
Emperor Meiji funeral procession
Emperor Meiji funeral procession
Emperor Showa (Hirohito)
Entertaining Guests with Ordinary Tea (Sen-Cha)
Entrance to Shinto Shrine, Naha, Okinawa
Envelope - Views of Kobe
Envelope for Custom of Japan postcard set
Envelope for Fine Scenes of Misasa Spa Postcard Set
Envelope for Four Seasons of Aso Postcard Set
Envelope for Great-Nagoya postcard set
Envelope for Japanese Girls set of cards
Envelope for Nikko Park Postcard Set
Envelope for Northern Island of Japan Hokkaido, 8 Post Cards
Envelope for Sketch Tokyo No. ?, postcard set
Envelope for Sketch Tokyo No. 3 Postcard Set
Envelope to set of primary school commemorative postcards
Envelope, Mt. Fuji postcard set
Envelope, The Top of Mt. Fuji postcard set
Ever ready on the homefront (1938)
Famous Places at Moji
Female Police Officer
Ferryboat and Hakodate
First Class Transportation in Japan
First Shanghai Incident (Jan. - March, 1932)
Fisher's House
Flower Road, Takarazuka
Flowers sent by H.I.M. The Emperor (2)
Flowers sent by the foreign envoys (1)
Fog in Frozen Over Volcano Mt. Aso
Foreign delegates in the procession (6)
Forty-seven Gishi Tombs at Sengakuji, Tokyo
Fuji from Hakone Lake
Fuji from Sengo-no-hara
Fuji from Ukishima
Fuji from Yamanaka Lake
Fuji from Yoshiwara
Fuji seen from Lake Yamanaka
Fukkō no HIroshima (Hiroshima Daibutsu and Monument)
G.H.Q Building, Tokyo
G.H.Q. at Tokyo
G.H.Q. Building at Tokyo
General Nogi (Count Nogi Maresuke)
Ginkakuji Garden, Kyoto
Ginza Main Street, Tokyo
Ginza Ōdōri (Ginza Street)
Ginza Street
Ginza Street
Ginza Street (Great Tokyo)
Ginza Street (Shopping Center of Tokyo)
Ginza Street, Tokyo
Gionmachi Kyoto
Going to Japan
Gojio Bridge, Kyoto
Gojō Bridge
Golden Dragon's Hell (Beppu Hot Springs)
Golf Course (Famous Sites of Rokkō)
Good Husband Wise Father
Good night
Grand Dance Hall, Takarazuka Hall
Great Tokyo Post Cards Envelope
Greater Tokyo, Hirokoji from Ueno-Park
Greater Tokyo, Main Entrance at Imperial University
Greater Tokyo, Matsuya Asakusa Store
Greater Tokyo, Nippon Youngmen Hall N.Y.H. at Meiji Shrine
Greater Tokyo, Tokyo Station
Greetings from U.S. to U (JC5)
Hachiman Temple, Kamakura
Hakubutsukan, Kyoto
Hanayashiki Circus in Asakusa Park
Harbin
Harbour Kobe
Hard Boiling Seller
Harry Smith
Headquarters, Far East Air Forces, Tokyo, Japan
Heiwa Tower, Enoshima
Hibiya Park
Hijiribashi Bridge (Tokyo)
Hirose Bazar, Hamano-machi, Nagasaki
Hoshigasaki, Matsushima
Hostess and Guests at Tea Ceremony
Hottas' Garden at Tokyo
Howdy! from Deep in the Heart of Texas (Bound for Tokyo)
I Heard a Gentleman Say Maidens are Fairest in Japan (6964)
Ichimura Uzaemon XV and Onoe Baikō VI in Scarface Yosa (Kirare Yosa)
Imperial Army Airplane
Imperial Sacred Bridge (Tokyo)
Imperial University
In Cherry Blossom Time in the country
In front of the new Takarazuka Hot Springs
In the Gardens of Fair Japan (Japan-British Exhibition, London, 1910)
In the Japanese Gardens - Pavilion of Japan and Formosa (San Diego, 1915-1917)
Inspecting the Leaf for the Marathon Teas
Issued by the Japanese Red Cross
Itsukushima
Iwakuni Suo Picture Postcard Set Envelope
Iwakuni, Suo
Iwakuni, Suo Province
Izumo-Machi, Nagsaki (Prostitute quarters)
Japan
Japan - Children with Friendship Dolls
Japan (The Allies Series K2), 1914
Japan National Defense Women's Association, patriotic song postcard (Shufu no tomo)
Japan Tea Hall at A Century of Progress, Tea Girls in Native Costumes (Chicago, 1933)
Japan Tea, An Ideal Health Builder
Japan Tourist Bureau (Yokohama Office)
Japan, Emperor of Japan
Japan, Man-of-War
Japan, the Land of Picturesque Gardens (Northwest Orient Airlines)
Japan's Fairest (9291)
Japanese Dancing Girl Playing the Koto (6950)
Japanese Garden and Pavilion, A Century of Progress, Chicago (1933)
Japanese Garden at Night, Rockefeller Center, New York City (1941)
Japanese Garden of a California Home
Japanese Garden, Clear Water, Fla. (1939)
Japanese Garden, Clemison Park, Middletown, N.Y.
Japanese Garden, Jackson Park, Chicago, Illinois
Japanese Garden, Ontario Beach Park, N.Y.
Japanese Garden, Washington Park, Waterloo, Iowa
Japanese Gardens - Santa Monica S. Cal. (Bernheimer Residence)
Japanese Gardens, Bradley Park, Peoria, Illinois (1936)
Japanese Gardens, Clearwater, Belleair, Florida
Japanese Gardens, Como Park, St. Paul, Minn.
Japanese Miniature Village, Hollywood
Japanese Musicians
Japanese Pagoda, Fairmont Park, Philadelphia, Pa. (No. 334)
Japanese Priest
Japanese SDF Air Force
Japanese Tea Garden at Coronado, Cal.
Japanese Tea Garden, Balboa Park, San Diego, Calif.
Japanese Tea Garden, Balboa Park, San Diego, Calif.
Japanese Tea Garden, Cawston Ostrich Farm, California
Japanese Tea Garden, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, Calif.
Japanese Tea Garden, Ocean View Park, VA
Japanese Tea Garden, Piedmont Park, Oakland, Cal. (1909)
Japanese Tea Garden, San Diego, Coronado, Cal.
Japanese Tea House, Ganeston Park, Augusta, Maine
Japanese Village (The Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, 1909)
Japanese Village, Wonderland, Revere Beach, Mass.
Japanese Village, Wonderland, Revere Beach, Mass.
Japanische Schönheiten (Japanese Beauties)
Japanische Schönheiten (Japanese Beauties)
Jazz and Neon at Night in Ginza
Jikido
Jozankei spa lying in the suburbs of Sapporo City
Just a Little Something to Remember Pearl Harbor! (JC6)
Kabuki-za
Kabukiza (Kabuki Theater), Tokyo
Kaijo Hoken (Sea Insurance) Building; Electric Tram; Teikoku Gekijo (Imperial Theater); Tokyo Station, Tokyo
Kamakura Daibutsu (Great Buddha)
Kamakura Daibutsu (Great Buddha)
Kanda Ichiba (Kanda Market)
Kasuga Grand Shrine, Nara
Kasuga Park at Nara
Kasuga-okuyama (Nara) commemorative postcard
Kasumigaseki Street
Kataoka Ichimatsu in Gunjin Kishitsu (Kabukiza, March)
Keep 'Em Flying!
Keep at it! The enemy is determined too!
Kikko Garden at iwakuni, Suo Province
Kikko Garden at Iwakuni, Suo Province
Kinkakuji (Golden Pavilion)
Kinkakuji, Kyoto
Kinshachi (Golden Dolphins of Nagoya Castle)
Kintai Bridge at iwakuni, Suo Province
Kintai Bridge at Iwakuni, Suo Province
Kintai Bridge at Iwakuni, Suo Province
Kintai Bridge at Iwakuni, Suo Province
Kintai Bridge at Iwakuni, Suo Province
Kintai Bridge at Suwo
Kintai Bridge, Suo
Kioto Street Scene
Kirishima Shrine, The Emperor's Son is Enrolled in it and Sublime Beauty of Peak of Mt. Takachiho
Kiyomizdu Temple, Kyoto
Kiyoshikōin Seichō-ji, Takarazuka
Kiyosu Bridge on the River Sumida (Tokyo)
Kobe - Une Idole au Japon
Koganei, Tokyo
Kokusai Theater, Asakusa
Korakuen Park, Okayama
Kurishima Sumiko
Kurishima Sumiko (The Peacock's Lament)
Kusasenri Pass, Volcano Mt. Aso
Kusasenri Pasturage from Volcano Mt. Aso
Kyōritsu Women's Vocational School commemorative postcard (1907)
Kyoto Beauty (38)
Kyoto Great Exhibition Commemorating Emperor Shōwa's Enthronement
Kyoto in San Diego (Sea World)
Kyoto Palace
Kyoto zoo
Lake Toya and Onuma Park
Life on the Water
Little Miss Yo San (1922)
Looking Down on the Japanese Tea House, Yama Farms
Louisiana Purchase Exposition, St. Louis 1904
Maiko and cherry-blossoms, Kyoto
Main Floor, Matsuzakaya (Ueno, Tokyo)
Making of Oshiye, Relief Pictures (Japanese Women's Lives)
