Large Japanese Photograph Album, c. 1930s–1960s
Item #1539
Album size: 12" x 14.5"
Contents: ~ close to 300 photographs (b/w and color)
A substantial album chronicling over three decades of Japanese family, educational, and social life. The collection spans the late prewar years through postwar reconstruction and modernization, preserving both formal portraits and candid snapshots of a single family across generations.
Photos include:
Education & Youth:
Numerous formal class photographs of schoolchildren, teachers, and groups identified by captions such as “Class 3.D”.
Excursion and ski-club images, with students posed outdoors in uniforms and hiking gear.
A page marked “First year of high school, Miyagi” shows young women visiting a conservatory and city landmarks.
Ceremonies & Weddings:
A striking formal wedding portrait taken at Kamigamo Shrine, Kyoto, captioned “Younger sister’s wedding.” The groom wears a Western suit, while the bride appears in an elaborate traditional kimono and headpiece.
A later family wedding in 1966, captioned “Iwata family wedding,” shows a multigenerational group in both kimono and Western formal attire.
Family Life & Generations:
Tender portraits of elders, including one captioned “Izumisano, with first grandchild” — showing a smiling grandfather on a swing with a child in his lap.
Numerous small gatherings, picnics, and domestic portraits; one page captioned “School picnic” depicts women and children eating outdoors.
Another page, “Farming in the environment,” shows a woman tending crops on a hillside.
Travel & Excursions:
A large group portrait at Mount Rokko (1953) with several hundred participants, likely a school or company excursion.
Smaller snapshots show three young women posing beside a signboard for Rokko Hill and mountain climbing routes.
Postwar Life & Cultural Exchange:
Vivid 1960s Kodachrome snapshots of children at the seaside, playing outdoors, or boarding a train.
Striking images of Japanese women in kimono hosting Western visitors.
One unusual color photograph depicts a kimono-clad woman surrounded by African American and white schoolchildren, perhaps reflecting an international exchange or teaching program abroad.
The spine is loose, though album still intact with only one photo missing. The approximately 300 photos are held to the page with corner tabs. Images are overall very well-preserved, with only light wear to some edges.
Album boards covered in faux wood-grain patterned paper.
Price: $375.00