Photograph or Moving Image by ForeignPhotographer/Artist
Inventory Number
97-PHF-012
A group of samurai is seen standing in front of the Sphinx in Egypt. The year is 1864, at the end of the Edo Period (1603–1868). Tasked by Japan’s Shogunate government with finding solutions to a range of problems facing the nation, from domestic political turbulence to diplomatic disagreements, the group has stopped over in Egypt on its way to meet with Napoleon III of France. Until about 10 years earlier, it would not have been possible to take a photograph of people like this without having them all stand absolutely still for several minutes. But by this time, photographic exposure times were down to a few seconds, and so members of this group have been photographed exactly as they please, with some even climbing on top of the Sphinx. The group’s primary objective was to negotiate the closure of Yokohama Port, which had already been opened to trade for several years. But, in the end, the port remained open and continued to develop. Antonio Beato, who took this photo, was the brother of the well-known photographer Felice Beato, who worked in Yokohama.
(YATSUYANAGI Sae)
A group of samurai is seen standing in front of the Sphinx in Egypt. The year is 1864, at the end of the Edo Period (1603–1868). Tasked by Japan’s Shogunate government with finding solutions to a range of problems facing the nation, from domestic political turbulence to diplomatic disagreements, the group has stopped over in Egypt on its way to meet with Napoleon III of France. Until about 10 years earlier, it would not have been possible to take a photograph of people like this without having them all stand absolutely still for several minutes. But by this time, photographic exposure times were down to a few seconds, and so members of this group have been photographed exactly as they please, with some even climbing on top of the Sphinx. The group’s primary objective was to negotiate the closure of Yokohama Port, which had already been opened to trade for several years. But, in the end, the port remained open and continued to develop. Antonio Beato, who took this photo, was the brother of the well-known photographer Felice Beato, who worked in Yokohama.
(YATSUYANAGI Sae)