old Japanese photograph of a pond in greater Tokyo
Toronto. On Wednesday, October 16th, we had the pleasure of hearing Kjeld Duits in Japan speak on a small part of his latest photographic research via ZOOM/Eventbrite.
Tokyo has eight distinct downtown areas including Shinjuku (in English Shinjuku means ‘way station’ or ward).
I was surprised by the many ponds and rivers in the greater Tokyo area as shown on the old maps. At one time on many ponds, tea houses were constructed. Mr Duits spoke of his use of old maps, old books, and old illustrations in efforts to identify the location and approximate age of some photos.
Until 1854, Japan was a closed society. In 1854, very limited access was granted to Americans. A few years later, this access widened to include Yokohama. With rare exception ‘foreigners’ who chose to remain in Japan were restricted to a small area around Yokohama.
In one case, Mr Duits showed in painstaking detail how imagery in an illustration matched closely to that in a photograph, in particular an old tree and placement of tea houses verified the age and location photographed/illustrated.
His methodology could easily be transported to old North American photos for those researchers wishing to identify dates and locations.
A spirited Q&A followed the talk. I for one certainly look forward to more presentations by Mr Duits, a very quiet and engaging speaker well versed in the art of drawing his audience into his ideas.
