First Pictures of Japan to the World

A great collection of pictures of 20th Century Japan courtesy of Rocket News 24:"A collection of 100-year-old hand-painted photos has been captivating Japanese netizens recently, both for their beauty and their significance. Taken at the beginning of the twentieth century by the well-known photographer, Kōzaburō Tamamura, these were the first pictures ever used to promote Japan to the world. The series reveals some gorgeous scenes of everyday life and places of natural beauty, in a Japan that was previously cut off to the world for centuries."Tamamura, a prominent photographer in the Meiji period (1868-1912), was commissioned to produce these photos by a publisher in the United States. The landscapes and the scenes chosen to appeal to foreigners a hundred years ago still have the same magical charm today. Click the Rocket News banner below for more![ad]