Statue of Buddha in Kamakura 

Felice Beato was an English photographer who came to Yokohama shortly after the opening of the port and documented a period of turbulent transformation in Japanese history. He is also known for having developed the novel business of having craftspeople apply color to his photographs, which he would then sell to foreign tourists as souvenirs.
Among the famous historic sites photographed by Beato, the most common was the sitting statue of Amida Nyorai at Kotoku-in, also known as the Great Buddha of Kamakura. If you look closely, you can see people sitting at the Buddha’s knee. The Great Buddha and samurai: two motifs synonymous with “exotic Japan” have been captured in one photograph. The composition must have seemed strange to the Japanese at the time, but it no doubt prompted more than a few foreign tourists to purchase a copy.
(MATSUNAGA Shintaro)