Japan

Guérin-Boutron’s Mysteries of Japan Advertising Card

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By the turn of the 20th century advertising cards were sought-after collectables, often pasted alongside other printed ephemera inside scrap books. The main visual language was the stereotype, and places like Japan were depicted as a mélange of mystery, pagodas, and odd idols.

The mystery figure on the left edge is a Chinese puppeteer; distinctions between China and Japan often dissolved under the umbrella of “the Orient.” Such imagery had circulated in Europe since the late 18th century through southern Chinese export paintings depicting popular Chinese occupations.

Guérin-Boutron was a luxury Parisian chocolatier and early adopter of chromolithographed trade cards, creating this set of worldwide nations and cities in the early 1900s.The printer, Vieillemard Fils & Cie, was a premier lithographer for major French trade card producers of the era.

The figure in the lower right corner is a crude rendering of a seated buddha. Pronounced ethnic facial features and flowing silk garments were sometimes used to signify “authentic” Asian religions iconography.

The circular insert depicts an uncommon two-story pagoda known as the Many Treasures Pagoda (tahōtō 多宝塔) described in the Lotus Sutra. This illustration shows the one built at Hachiman Shrine which was destroyed in 1870, several decades before this card was issued.

The Buddhas in the West Material Archive is a digital scholarship project that catalogues artifacts depicting Buddhist material culture for Western audiences. It’s comprised of prints, photos, and an assortment of ephemera and other objects. For a brief introduction to this archive, visit the main Buddhas in the West project page.

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Benjamin Kilburn’s Buddhist Pilgrims Stereoview

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The earliest stereo photographs of Japan were taken in 1859, but it was not until the late 1890s when publishers started to take a genuine commercial interest in the country. In 1901 Benjamin Kilburn released a beautiful series of views of Japan where Buddhism played a minor role.

By 1900, Kilburn was one of the world’s largest producers and distributors of stereoviews, traveling extensively to build his portfolio. Yet, despite Kilburn’s name printed on the back of each mount, the Japanese series was not photographed by him; the photographer remains unknown.

This view is captioned, “Buddhist Priests on a Pilgrimage, Japan,” but we have no precise information regarding the location. The negative number (13978) places this image in a series taken around Mt. Fuji, thus it may be somewhere on the pilgrimage path to the sacred mountain.

The sedge hats, bags, and white clothes all signal the activity of a religious pilgrimage. Views such as this were considered educational as much as they were entertaining and thus reflected a visual tradition of anthropological photography by showing native peoples in religious attire.

For more on the religious history of mountains in Japan, see the edited volume, Defining Shugendō: Critical Studies on Japanese Mountain Religion (2020).

The Buddhas in the West Material Archive is a digital scholarship project that catalogues artifacts depicting Buddhist material culture for Western audiences. It’s comprised of prints, photos, and an assortment of ephemera and other objects. For a brief introduction to this archive, visit the main Buddhas in the West project page.

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Nikko’s Yashamon “Demon Gate” Photograph

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The Taiyū-in Shrine, in idyllic Nikko, is the final resting place of shōgun Tokugawa Iemitsu, one of the “Great Unifiers” of Japan. The compound is punctuated by several ornate gate houses, including the one here known as Yashamon for the Buddhist guardian figures protecting it.

Completed in 1653, Iemitsu’s mausoleum blends both Shinto and Buddhist architectural styles and elements. The Yashamon is the third gate within the compound and houses four icons of weapon-wielding yakṣa (J. yasha) who have history in Buddhist Asia as temple guardians.

This photograph was taken in the late 1880s or 1890s and most likely reflects one of the many Japanese-owned photography studios that catered to foreign visitors.

Not as grand or sophisticated as Nikko’s main attraction, Tōshō-gū, the Taiyū-in Shrine still displays highly skilled craftsmanship.Looking closely, the Yashamon is covered with delicately carved peonies (painted light blue on the photo), and thus is also called Botanmon, or the Peony Gate.

As one walks through Taiyū-in Shrine, the Yashamon is first seen atop a flight of steps, but if you cross the threshold and turn around, two yakṣa peer back at you. The blue figure on the left is Umarokya holding a bow and arrow.

The fierce white-skinned yakṣa on the right is Kendara who carries a weapon on his shoulder.Due to the warrior nature of these images another name for this gate was sometimes used in turn-of-the-century guidebooks: the Demon Gate.

The Buddhas in the West Material Archive is a digital scholarship project that catalogues artifacts depicting Buddhist material culture for Western audiences. It’s comprised of prints, photos, and an assortment of ephemera and other objects. For a brief introduction to this archive, visit the main Buddhas in the West project page.

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Ueda’s Hyōgo Daibutsu at Kobe Postcard

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Nōfuku-ji, a Buddhist temple in the port city of Kobe, Japan, was reportedly founded by the monk Saichō in 805. A thousand years later, the colossal Hyōgo Daibutsu was built on temple grounds in 1891, but the statue did not survive beyond World War II.

Commissioned by a local paper merchant, the bronze icon stood just under 15 meters (48 ft.) in height, but remained exposed and uncovered by a shrine hall. The Hyōgo Daibutsu represented Vairocana Buddha, the same figure enshrined at Tōdai-ji, in the ancient capital of Nara.

Guidebooks in the early 20th century refer to Nōfuku-ji as a worthy tourist destination when traveling through Kobe. Equally, Japanese postcard companies often used imagery of the Hyōgo Daibutsu; here we see a card made by Ueda Photo, one of the largest publishers during the late Meiji era.

Like the Kamakura Daibutsu, the outdoor setting allowed visitors an easy opportunity to have photographs taken in front of the colossal statue.

The statue was dismantled under the Ordinance on the Collection of Metals issued as part of Japanese war efforts during WWII. In 1991, one hundred years after the original was complete, a new Hyōgo Daibutsu was consecrated and remains today at Nōfuku-ji.

The Buddhas in the West Material Archive is a digital scholarship project that catalogues artifacts depicting Buddhist material culture for Western audiences. It’s comprised of prints, photos, and an assortment of ephemera and other objects. For a brief introduction to this archive, visit the main Buddhas in the West project page.

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Tamamura Kōzaburō’s Kamakura Daibutsu Photograph For Brinkley’s Japan

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An astounding 400,000 hand-colored photographic prints were used for all editions of Francis Brinkley’s Japan: Described and Illustrated by the Japanese. Produced in Boston between 1897 and 1898, this work was the pinnacle of photographic book publishing at the turn of the century.

The photographs were imported from Japan from the Yokohama studio of Tamamura Kōzaburō, one of the most prolific Japanese photographers of his generation. He reportedly employed 350 artists for several months to complete the job, yet Tamamura’s name is omitted from the final publication.

Unlike most books of the era which used photomechanical prints, Brinkley’s Japan used mounted photographs. The Great Buddha of Kamakura was the second full page photograph, following Mt. Fuji, in the first volume, suggesting its perceived value in the American visual language of Japan.

Tamamura’s output was so extensive in preparation for Brinkley’s book, there was a fivefold increase in Japan’s photography exports between 1895 and 1896. This volume of work was achieved at expense of quality, as many of the color washes are pale and poorly executed.

While the number of one million photos for Brinkley’s Japan was likely exaggerated by Tamamura for publicity, this was truly an enormous undertaking. To view the first volume of Brinkley’s Japan held by the Getty Museum, see here: https://tinyurl.com/bddt5z32.

The Buddhas in the West Material Archive is a digital scholarship project that catalogues artifacts depicting Buddhist material culture for Western audiences. It’s comprised of prints, photos, and an assortment of ephemera and other objects. For a brief introduction to this archive, visit the main Buddhas in the West project page.

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Felice Beato’s Kichizo Jizō Photograph

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This Jizō statue stood on the banks of Lake Ashi in Hakone for 150 years when Felice Beato took this photo in the 1860s. Within a decade, the lakeside statue would be vandalized, sold, and removed in the aftermath of the Buddhist persecution during the early Meiji era.

Beato was a Yokohama-based photographer who found success selling photographic prints to early, thrill-seeking globetrotters. Here we see a hand-colored albumen print of the statue known as Kichizo Jizō, originally found on the grounds of Kongō-ō Temple off the Tōkaidō route.

Another photo showing scenic Lake Ashi is attached to the reverse, but this image is often attributed to Baron von Stillfried. Beato sold most of his stock to Stillfried in 1877, suggesting this page was removed from a tourist album sold by Stillfried in the late 1870s.

The bronze Kichizo Jizo statue was commissioned in 1713 and was placed with a cluster of smaller Jizō statues that sat along the shoreline (another Jizō is partly visible on the far right edge). Looking closely at Beato’s photo, we also see two Japanese men praying to the bodhisattva.

During Japan’s Buddhist persecution, the large Kongōō Temple lost its holdings and much of its statuary was eventually sold off. While smaller statues were lost in the chaos, the Kichizo Jizo was sold to a Tokyo dealer who transported it down the Odawara coast to be shipped off.

According to lore, the icon became immovable at port and was subsequently purchased by Tokujo Temple, where it remains enshrined today. To view an intact 1868 Beato souvenir album containing this photo, see the Hood Museum at Dartmouth: https://tinyurl.com/mpzhrb5d.

The Buddhas in the West Material Archive is a digital scholarship project that catalogues artifacts depicting Buddhist material culture for Western audiences. It’s comprised of prints, photos, and an assortment of ephemera and other objects. For a brief introduction to this archive, visit the main Buddhas in the West project page.

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Nipponophone’s Moving Buddha Advertising Postcard

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Nipponophone was an early Japanese record company, releasing the first domestically-produced phonograph in 1910 to commercial success. The company’s president, American Frederick Horn, adopted a large sitting Buddha for advertising, but with a subtle homage to another US brand.

Modern consumerism was just entering its stride and brand identity was emerging as central to advertising. In America, the most well-known music trademark at the time was Victor Records’ Nipper the dog who was depicted tilting his head to listen to his owner’s voice played on a record.

In contrast, designer Sassa Kōka used the otherwise stoically seated Buddha to illustrate the sonic appeal of the new phonograph. Such an image would undoubtedly strike Japanese audiences as unorthodox, but playful imagery was well-known in Japanese art through the Edo period (1600–1868).

During the height of the Japanese picture postcard boom (ehagaki būmu) it was not uncommon to see cards used as advertising. The placement of the address dividing line helps us date it to between 1910, when Nipponophone was founded, and 1918.

The moving Buddha image was used by Nipponophone in other business related ephemera. For example, it can be seen printed on the company’s paper record sleeves; one viewable here through the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia: https://tinyurl.com/4vk8f9sa

The Buddhas in the West Material Archive is a digital scholarship project that catalogues artifacts depicting Buddhist material culture for Western audiences. It’s comprised of prints, photos, and an assortment of ephemera and other objects. For a brief introduction to this archive, visit the main Buddhas in the West project page.

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Eliphalet Brown’s Buddhist Priest at Shimoda Lithograph

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The earliest surviving photographs of Japan were shot by Eliphalet Brown as part of the Perry Expedition in 1853/54. Among many landscapes, Brown also took a few portraits, including this anonymous Buddhist priest at Shimoda – likely the earliest surviving photo of a Buddhist cleric.

Brown reportedly took more than 400 daguerreotypes during the expedition. Several dozen images, including fifteen from Shimoda, were used to illustrate the official US government report published as the Narrative of the Expedition of an American Squadron to the China Seas and Japan in 1856.

The selected daguerreotypes taken by Brown were first turned into paintings, most often by expedition artist Wilhelm Heine. These were then converted into sepia tone or color-tinted stone lithograph plates for printing; the caption below indicates this image was prepared by artist Peter Krämer.

Lithography is a printing process that uses drawings made with a waxy crayon on a stone plate. Due to a special “gumming” treatment applied to the stone, ink adheres only to the drawn lines, thus allowing prints to be made. The characteristic crayon marks can be easily seen here.

Only six of Brown’s daguerreotypes have been located; some were believed lost when the Philadelphia printer, P. S. Duval, suffered a fire in April 1856. In total, it is believed between 10,000 and 18,000 copies of Perry’s Expedition report were published.

When Perry landed in Shimoda on April 18, 1854, he reported a total of 7,000 inhabitants and nine Buddhist temples. The figure in Brown’s portrait remains unknown. The first volume of Perry’s report is viewable here: https://tinyurl.com/3rpscp9h.

The Buddhas in the West Material Archive is a digital scholarship project that catalogues artifacts depicting Buddhist material culture for Western audiences. It’s comprised of prints, photos, and an assortment of ephemera and other objects. For a brief introduction to this archive, visit the main Buddhas in the West project page.

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Arnoldus Montanus’ Icon with Thirty Arms Engraving

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Following a pair of successful illustrated works on China, publisher Jacob van Meurs secured the rights to issue an illustrated book on Japan in 1669. The engravings, such as we see with the curious Buddhist icon here, were criticized for departing “a long way from the truth.”

Compiled by Arnoldus Montanus, a Protestant Minister who never left Holland, the engravings in Atlas Japannensis draw from both textual descriptions and an older European visual language of Asian idolatry. The work includes 23 large plates and 71 smaller vignettes set within the text.

As for the icon here, the English translation of 1670 reads, “This Image hath thirty Arms, and as many Hands, in each two Arrows, a Face representing a handsome Youth, on his Breast seven humane Faces, with a Crown of Gold, richly inchas’d with Peals, Diamonds, and all sorts of Precious Gems.”

While multi-armed and multi-headed figures are not uncommon in Buddhism, the particular configuration here appears rather fanciful. Nevertheless, we are informed the illustration here represents the Bodhisattva Kannon, further curiously identified in the text as the son of Amida Buddha.

The markings on the pedestal are meant to signify non-alphabetic East Asian writing, but none can be resolved into legible characters.

Kannon’s temple is said to be located on a Buddhist mountain just east of Kyoto, most likely pointing to Mt. Hiei. The fires indicate part of Mt. Hiei’s history, as described by Montanus, when Oda Nobunaga razed Buddhist temples in the region in 1571.

Several of Montanus’ engravings were copied into later works on Japan, helping shape a visual lexicon for Buddhism into the 19th cent. The 1669 Dutch edition of Atlas Japannensis has been digitized by the National Library of the Netherlands, viewable here: tinyurl.com/5n6kstfy.

The Buddhas in the West Material Archive is a digital scholarship project that catalogues artifacts depicting Buddhist material culture for Western audiences. It’s comprised of prints, photos, and an assortment of ephemera and other objects. For a brief introduction to this archive, visit the main Buddhas in the West project page.

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Wilhelm Burger’s Kamakura Daibutsu Photograph

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Tales of Tourist Photos, Pt. 2*: Old “wet-plate” photography required glass negatives to be coated, sensitized, exposed, and developed in less than fifteen minutes. Using the dry-plate method, negatives could be prepared beforehand; Wilhelm Burger was among the first to use this in Japan.
*[Part 1]

Burger was photographer for the 1869 Imperial Austrian Expedition to East Asia, but illness allowed him to remain in Japan for the winter after the legation left. Tasked in part to photograph art objects, Burger visited the Kamakura Daibutsu with large glass negatives he prepared in Europe.

The handwritten inscription on the back of this photographic print reads, “This Image is all Bronze, name Diaboots.” “Diaboots,” or Daiboots, was the Yokohama treaty port vernacular for the Kamakura Daibutsu through the 1860s.

While Burger created a sizable portfolio of arts and crafts during the embassy, his photographs at Kōtoku-in in Kamakura appear more tourist-like than documentary. Here, several people pose for the camera, including what may appear to be Buddhist priests and three men in European attire.

To my knowledge, the people remain unidentified; Burger’s apprentice, Michael Moser, stayed in Japan after the embassy returned (and remained after Burger left). Moreover, Italian-born Felice Beato operated a successful Yokohama-based photography studio at the time – could either be seen here?

On his return to Vienna in 1870, Burger exhibited his Japanese portfolio to broad public acclaim. For more on Burger’s photographic process, see Tani Akiyoshi & Peter Pantzer’s “Wilhelm Burger’s Photographs of Japan,” PhotoResearcher 15 (2011): 40–50.

The Buddhas in the West Material Archive is a digital scholarship project that catalogues artifacts depicting Buddhist material culture for Western audiences. It’s comprised of prints, photos, and an assortment of ephemera and other objects. For a brief introduction to this archive, visit the main Buddhas in the West project page.

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