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—Preface—

My subject in this book is the early history of photographic images in Japan and the photographers, both Japanese and Western, who took them. I have been less concerned with photographic processes, types, or equipment.

I have tried to pull together scattered pieces of information about early Japanese photography from both Western and Japanese sources, though the latter have proved especially troublesome. Japanese photographic literature is littered with unattributed statements and opinions. Primary-source material is rare. References are often vague, incomplete, and unreliable. Accordingly, although Japanese sources have been quoted, Western sources have proved to be surprisingly more fruitful.

But in English too the subject of early Japanese photography is not well documented, and nothing comprehensive seems to have appeared since Clark Worswick's 1979 pioneering work, Japan Photographs: 1854-1905. For many years I myself have been interested in early Japanese photography, and this volume includes many of my own findings and research that I hope will add to the current store of information on the subject.

In particular, I believe this book should lessen the problem of attribution. Until now, correctly attributing images to photographers has been difficult, and mistakes have been commonplace. For the first time, however, Appendix 1 identifies hundreds of early photographers' works, data that should prove particularly useful to students of early Japanese photography. But more than anything else I hope that the photographs themselves will be of interest to others who, like me, are fascinated by the contradictions of the land and people of Japan.