Worldviews Images Collection

#1 A portrait of a woman in kimono.

#2 Young girls and women at work at a bamboo basket factory. When Japan’s leaders during the Meiji Period (1868-1912) started the country’s sprint for economic development, they forever changed the roles of Japanese women. Many of them ended up working in the countless factories that were sprouting up everywhere. Without the willingness of Japanese women to work long hours for little pay, Japan would never have succeeded in its industrialization.

#3 View on Utsunomiya, the capital of Tochigi Prefecture. The photographer most probably looked south-east from Futarayama Shrin. Utsunomiya prospered as a temple town before it became a castle town and subsequently a town for accommodations along the Oshu Kaido highway, connecting Edo (current Tokyo) with Mutsu Province in the North, and the Nikko Kaido, which connected Edo with Nikko.

#4 A huge funeral crowd has assembled around a hearse in a city that appears to be Tokyo or Osaka. The banner reads: “Kiku, the deceased mother of the Ishibashi family.“ Meiji Period funeral processions were usually large and expensive affairs.
Publisher: J B Millet Company   

#5 Two jinrikisha (rickshaw) pullers stand in front of Hyogo Kencho, the building for the Prefectural Government of Hyogo in Kobe, capital of Hyogo Prefecture. Hyogo Port was among the first ports to open for trade with Western countries and it soon embraced everything Western. The city boasted countless Western style buildings, among which Hyogo Prefectural Office.

#6 This photograph displays Tokyo’s most popular transportation modes during the Meiji Period (1868-1912), horse drawn streetcars and jinrikisha (rickshaws).

#7 A woman is threshing (rice stalks with a Senbakoki , threshing machine), while a man is carrying straw bags balanced on a pole. In the back drying rice plants can be seen, it was customary to dry freshly cut rice plants before threshing commenced.

#8 A rare panoramic view of Osaka from the Osaka Prefectural Office, looking towards the North East. During the Meiji (1868-1912) and Taisho (1912-1926) periods, Osaka’s Prefectural Office was located on the small island of Enokojima, between the Kizugawa River and the Hyakkenbori Canal. Completed in July 1874 (Meiji 7), the Neo-Renaissance style building featured a dome on top. Next to the building stood a tall tower.

#9 This glass slide shows the second Osaka Station in all of its glory. Opened in July 1901 (Meiji 34), the Gothic style building was two stories high and built of granite, giving it a massive and imposing look. Osaka Station was one of the city’s three must-see tourist attractions. The other two were the Osaka branch of the Bank of Japan, built in 1903 (Meiji 36), and the Sempukan), the guest house for the Mint Bureau. Completed in 1870 (Meiji 3), it was the first Western-style building in Osaka.

#10 Another view from Ginza 4-chome looking towards Kyobashi. The high elevation affords a clear view over Tokyo. Ginza’s celebrated willow trees are still very small on this image, but there are already horse-drawn streetcars. These started operations on June 25, 1882 (Meiji 15). That suggests that this photo was taken during the early 1880s.

#11 Great O-torii (gate) of the Itsukushima Shrine on Miyajima Island, located in the prefecture of Hiroshima, Japan.   

#12 Medieval map of Japan.   

#13 Japanese warrior.   

#14 Matsumoto Castle.   

#15 An ancient Japanese emperor seated on a litter, carried on the shoulders of imperial guards.   

#16 A knight preparing to go to battle in a modern-day joust.   

#17 The early Renaissance Hartenfels Castle of Torgau (Saxony, Germany).   

#18 The Courtyard of the Doge's Palace in Venice.   

#19 One of the statues (by Bernini) on the Ponte Sant'Angelo bridge, which spans the Tiber River in Rome, Italy.   

#20 Archbishop Warham by Hans Holbein. Archbishop of Canterbury from 1503 to 1532.