Japanse lelie before 1895

This photograph of Japanese lilies was created by Kazumasa Ogawa, a pioneer of photography in Japan during the Meiji era. Ogawa's work exists at the intersection of Japan opening to the West, and the preservation of traditional Japanese art forms. His choice to photograph lilies, a flower deeply embedded in Japanese art and symbolism, speaks to a desire to connect with and document Japanese culture. Consider the act of photographing a flower: it's an attempt to capture a fleeting moment of beauty. In the context of a rapidly modernizing Japan, this photograph is a poignant meditation on the ephemeral nature of culture and tradition. What does it mean to preserve a moment, a tradition, or a culture through the lens of a camera?