Series Historical Collection: Speaking to the Future - Photographs—Documentation of Old Art

In the early Meiji period (1868-1912), when the museum belonged to the Museum Bureau of the Ministry of Education, the collection and preservation of old art works in Japan was connected with the preparation of objects to be shown at the Vienna World Exposition in 1873. Likewise, many expositions and exhibitions held in and outside of Japan during the Meiji period provided good opportunities for the research of cultural properties and their accumulation at the Museum.

How were photographs, a recording method, related with this, The government officials who photographed Edo castle in 1872 and introduced photography in the "Jinshin survey of cultural properties" in the same year must have understood the effectiveness of photographs as a recording medium. They took every opportunity to photograph the old art works included in the various expositions and exhibitions, and took an active role in transmitting and accumulating this information.

This display features photographs as records of art works. Included in it are photo albums documenting World Expositions held in Vienna and Paris during the early Meiji period and the objects shown there. It also features photographs of works shown at the Kanko Bijutsu-kai, an exhibition of old art works held regularly at that time, as well as the works of Kudo Risaburo, one of the pioneers in artistic photography.