Stenen lantaarns langs een weg in een park in Ueno, Tokyo, Japan before 1903

Kusakabe Kimbei made this photograph of stone lanterns in Ueno Park, Tokyo. It’s a hand-tinted albumen silver print, a process that involves coating paper with albumen from eggs, making it light-sensitive. The warm tones and soft focus speak to the material conditions of its making. Kusakabe and other Japanese photographers produced these images for the tourist trade, catering to Western fascination with Japan. The making of each print was labor-intensive, from the meticulous posing of the shot to the chemical processing and hand-coloring. Consider the social context: Japan was rapidly modernizing and opening to the West, and images like these helped to shape perceptions of Japanese culture abroad. The craft involved—preparing the paper, taking the shot, developing, hand-coloring—highlights the blend of tradition and modernity. Paying attention to these aspects enriches our understanding, and challenges old ideas about what is ‘art’ versus ‘craft’ versus ‘commodity.’