Description
For nineteenth-century globetrotters, a jinrikisha ride was an almost mandatory experience of their visit to Japan. To commemorate their experiences, such tourists often had themselves photographed in simulated jinrikisha scenes in one of numerous commercial studios. This discussion examines the relationship between the tourist experience of the conveyance and its representation in early photography in Japan. Although some scholars have argued that commercial photographers sought to document Japanese society before the impact of modernisation (the so-called ‘salvage paradigm’), the popularity of the jinrikisha photograph complicates this stance. As a recent invention of the treaty port milieu, the jinrikisha had the potential to signify innovation and change, and hence appeared an unsuitable subject for the souvenir market. Why did the jinrikisha quickly enter the studio repertoire and what role did photography play in the status afforded the conveyance? And why, significantly, was this theme adopted by entrepreneurial Japanese photographers of the period? Through an examination of travellers’ accounts and select photographs, this paper will examine the dynamic, shifting representational field of the jinrikisha portrait in Meiji-period Japan.| Period | 27 Aug 2010 |
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| Event title | Work-in-Progress Seminar at the Research School of Humanities & the Arts, Australian National University: The Jinrikisha through the Lens: Tourism and Modernity in Meiji Japan |
| Event type | Other |
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