Photograph or Moving Image by JapanesePhotographer/Artist
Inventory Number
91-PHJ-129
Shimooka Renjo established a commercial photography studio in Yokohama at the end of the Edo Period (1603–1868) and produced many photographs that were printed in what was called "business card-size" for use as souvenirs. He was particularly good at this kind of genre photography, which was aimed squarely at the foreign tourist market. Three kimono-clad boys who look like students are pictured holding pipes and books. Renjo liked to arrange his subjects like this, with two people sitting facing each other on the left and right, and one person in the center. Look closely at the boy on the right and you can see a kind of restraining device on his neck. The photographic technique used at the time, called wet plate photography, required exposure times of 5 to 15 seconds, so devices like these were used to help subjects keep their heads still during shooting.
(OSAWA Sayoko)
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Shimooka Renjo established a commercial photography studio in Yokohama at the end of the Edo Period (1603–1868) and produced many photographs that were printed in what was called "business card-size" for use as souvenirs. He was particularly good at this kind of genre photography, which was aimed squarely at the foreign tourist market. Three kimono-clad boys who look like students are pictured holding pipes and books. Renjo liked to arrange his subjects like this, with two people sitting facing each other on the left and right, and one person in the center. Look closely at the boy on the right and you can see a kind of restraining device on his neck. The photographic technique used at the time, called wet plate photography, required exposure times of 5 to 15 seconds, so devices like these were used to help subjects keep their heads still during shooting.
(OSAWA Sayoko)