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Plum Park in Kameido is a woodblock print in the ukiyo-e genre by the Japanese artist Hiroshige. It was published in 1857 as the thirtieth print in the One Hundred Famous Views of Edo series and depicts Prunus mume trees in bloom. Popular prints such as Plum Park in Kameido were produced in the tens of thousands at a low individual cost. After the opening up of Japan in 1853, they found a following in Europe, where they had a significant influence on the Impressionist artists such as Vincent van Gogh.
See Van Gogh's derivative version
Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies registration card
Document: Japanese occupation government; scan by the National Archives of the NetherlandsA registration card for Louis Wijnhamer (1904–1975), an ethnic Dutch humanitarian who was captured soon after the Empire of Japan occupied the Dutch East Indies in March 1942. Prior to the occupation, many ethnic Europeans had refused to leave, expecting the Japanese occupation government to keep a Dutch administration in place. When Japanese troops took control of government infrastructure and services such as ports and postal services, 100,000 European (and some Chinese) civilians were interned in prisoner-of-war camps where the death rates were between 13 and 30 per cent. Wijnhamer was interned in a series of camps throughout Southeast Asia and, after the surrender of Japan, returned to what was now Indonesia, where he lived until his death.
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Banknotes: Empire of Japan. Reproduction: National Numismatic Collection, National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institution
The Japanese-issued Netherlands Indies gulden was the currency issued by the Japanese Empire when it occupied the Dutch East Indies during World War II. Following the Dutch capitulation in March 1942, the Japanese closed all banks, seized assets and currency, and assumed control of the economy in the territory. They began issuing military banknotes, as had previously been done in other occupied territories. These were printed in Japan, but retained the name of the pre-war currency and replaced the Dutch gulden at par. From 1943 the military banknotes were replaced by identical bank-issued notes printed within the territory, and the currency was renamed the roepiah from 1944. The currency was replaced by the Indonesian rupiah in 1946, one year after the Japanese surrender and the country's independence.
This note, denominated one gulden, is part of the 1942 series.
See other denominations: One cent · Five cents · Ten cents · Half gulden · One gulden, Five gulden, Ten gulden
A line drawing of the Japanese battleship Yamato, the lead ship of the Yamato class of battleships that served with the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. Named after the ancient Japanese Yamato Province, she was launched on 8 August 1940 and served as the flagship of the Japanese Combined Fleet in 1942.
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Banknote design credit: Bank of Japan; photographed by Andrew Shiva
This picture shows a ten-sen banknote, in use during the 1914–1922 Japanese occupation of Tsingtao (Qingdao), China, as part of the Asian and Pacific theatre of World War I. Issued by the Bank of Japan, the currency was based on the silver standard. This banknote, dated 1914, is in the National Numismatic Collection of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History.
Before the outbreak of World War I, German naval ships were located in the Pacific; Tsingtao developed into a major seaport while the surrounding Kiautschou Bay area was leased to Germany since 1898. During the war, Japanese and British Allied troops besieged the port in 1914 before capturing it from the German and Austro-Hungarian Central Powers, occupying the city and the surrounding region. It served as a base for the exploitation of the natural resources of Shandong province and northern China, and a "New City District" was established to furnish the Japanese colonists with commercial sections and living quarters. Tsingtao eventually reverted to Chinese rule by 1922.
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Banknote design credit: Empire of Japan; photographed by Andrew Shiva
The Japanese government-issued rupee in Burma was Japanese invasion money issued as a replacement for the local currency during the Japanese occupation of Burma in the Second World War. Like most Japanese colonial currency from this period, a letter code was used on the notes; the first or top letter "B" indicates that the note was printed in and issued for the State of Burma; the second letter or letters indicate the block (or printing batch) of the note. The higher-value notes depict Ananda Temple in Bagan on the obverse. This five-rupee banknote is part of the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution.
Other denominations:
Other denominations:
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Banknote design credit: Empire of Japan; photographed by Andrew Shiva
The Japanese government-issued dollar was a form of currency issued between 1942 and 1945 for use within the territories of Singapore, Malaya, North Borneo, Sarawak and Brunei, under occupation by Imperial Japan during World War II. The currency, informally referred to as "banana money", was released solely in the form of banknotes, as metals were considered essential to the war effort. The languages used on the notes were reduced to English and Japanese. Each note bears a different obverse and reverse design, but all have a similar layout, and were marked with stamped block letters that begin with "M" for "Malaya". This 1942 one-cent Japanese-issued banknote is part of the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution.
Other denominations:
Other denominations:
Painting credit: unknown
The siege of Osaka was a series of battles undertaken by the Japanese Tokugawa shogunate against the Toyotomi clan, and ending in the clan's dissolution. Divided into two stages (the winter campaign and the summer campaign), and lasting from 1614 to 1615, the siege put an end to the last major armed opposition to the shogunate's establishment. This eight-metre-long (26 ft) painting, titled The Summer Battle of Osaka Castle and executed on a Japanese folding screen, illustrates Osaka Castle under siege, and was commissioned by the daimyo Kuroda Nagamasa, who took a team of painters with him to the battlefield to record the event. The painting depicts 5071 people and 21 generals, and is held in the collection of Osaka Castle.
Photograph credit: Basile Morin
Asahi Breweries is a Japanese global beer, spirits, soft drinks and food business group. This photograph, taken during the blue hour with a full moon, shows the headquarters of Asahi Breweries in Sumida, Tokyo, as viewed from the wharf on the Sumida River near Azuma Bridge. The Asahi Beer Hall, topped by the Asahi Flame, designed by Philippe Starck, is visible on the right, with the Tokyo Skytree in the background on the left.
Image: Shobido & Co.; Restoration: Adam Cuerden
A Japanese lithograph depicting the capture of Blagoveshchensk, Siberia, by the Imperial Japanese Army during the Siberian Intervention, part of a larger effort by the western powers and Japan to support White Russian forces against the Bolshevik Red Army during the Russian Civil War. The Allied invasion took place in August 1918, and Japanese troops remained in Russia until October 1922.
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Hokusai's The Great Wave off Kanagawa, from his seminal work 36 Views of Mount Fuji, is one of the most iconic representations of the Japanese style of art known as ukiyo-e. The scene is of a great wave (often mistaken for a tsunami) about to devour the men and boats, with the distant Mount Fuji minimized by the size of the wave.
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Credit: Utagawa Kuniyoshi
This ukiyo-e print, titled Kinhyōshi yōrin, hero of the Suikoden, is one in a series created by the Japanese artist Utagawa Kuniyoshi between 1827 and 1830 illustrating the 108 Suikoden ("Water Margin"). The publication of the series catapulted Kuniyoshi to fame and helped created a Suikoden craze in Japan. The hero portrayed in this print is Yang Lin.
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Credit: Paul Vlaar
A series of torii, the defining feature of Fushimi Inari-taisha, a Shinto shrine dedicated to the spirit Inari in Kyoto, Japan. The thousands of vermilion torii gates are all donations from individuals, families or companies.
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Credit: Daniel Bachler
Two geisha conversing near Kinkaku-ji in Kyoto, Japan. One of their most recognizable characteristics, traditional white make-up, is shown in detail. Its application is hard to perfect and is a time-consuming process. It is applied before dressing to avoid dirtying the kimono. The white make-up covers the face, neck, and chest, with two or three unwhitened areas. One of these areas is a "W" or "V" shape (usually the traditional "W" shape) on the nape to accentuate this traditionally erotic area.
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Credit: Kropsoq
In early August, during the three-day festival known as Nagaoka Matsuri, tens of thousands of fireworks are launched near the Shinano River in Nagaoka in Niigata Prefecture.
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Credit: Base64
The keep of Nagoya Castle located in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture. Originally built around 1525, the castle was used as the District army headquarters and as a POW camp during World War II. During the bombing of Japan, the castle was burnt down in a USAF air raid on May 14, 1945. It was reconstructed in 1959 and is currently under exhibition.
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A map of Nagasaki, Japan depicting the city before and after the atomic bombing of August 9, 1945. The radius of total destruction was about 1.6 km (1 mile), followed by fires across the northern portion of the city to 3.2 km (2 miles) south of the bomb.
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Several inscriptions on the series of torii, the defining feature of Fushimi Inari-taisha, a Shinto shrine dedicated to the spirit Inari in Kyoto, Japan. The thousands of vermilion gates are all donations from individuals, families or companies.
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Credit: Shobido & Co
The Japanese Siberian Intervention of 1918–1922 was the dispatch of troops of the Imperial Japanese Army to the Russian Maritime Provinces as part of a larger effort by western powers and Japan to support White Russian forces against the Bolshevik Red Army during the Russian Civil War.
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Credit: Peggy Greb
This bonsai is part of the penjing collection at the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum. The trident maple Acer buergerianum has its roots growing over a rock and its foliage and stems trimmed in the shape of a dragon.
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Credit: 663highland
A view of the colorful dougong supporting Sagami Temple, a Shingon Buddhist temple located in Kasai, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan.
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Credit: Ansel Adams
Female internees practicing calisthenics at Manzanar War Relocation Center, Owens Valley, California. In 1943, photographer Ansel Adams followed an invitation by newly appointed camp director Ralph Merritt to photograph the everyday life of the Japanese American internees in the camp. Adams's intent was to "show how these people, suffering under a great injustice, (…) had overcome the sense of defeat and despair by building for themselves a vital community in an arid (but magnificent) environment."
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A wall made of barrels containing Japanese sake at Itsukushima Shrine in Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima Prefecture.
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Credit: Ansel Adams
Portrait of Tōyō Miyatake, 1943. During the period of Japanese American internment, Miyatake was interned at Manzanar War Relocation Center in Owens Valley. He smuggled a camera lens into the camp and constructed a camera body from wood. The pictures he secretly took at the camp are the only ones that show the plight of U.S. Citizens detained in the camps during the war.
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Credit: Todd Laracuenta
A geisha at work lighting a client's cigar. Geisha are often hired to attend parties and gatherings, traditionally at tea houses or at traditional Japanese restaurants.
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On September 2, 1945, General Douglas MacArthur signs the Japanese Instrument of Surrender as Supreme Allied Commander during formal surrender ceremonies on the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, Japan. Behind General MacArthur are Lieutenant General Jonathan Wainwright and Lieutenant General A. E. Percival.
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Credit: Felice Beato
This panorama by Felice Beato—called Panorama of Yedo from Atagoyama, c.1865—showes daimyō residences in Edo (now Tokyo). Five albumen silver prints were joined together to form the image.
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Zhou Maoshu Appreciating Lotuses, c. 15th century, an ink painting in suiboku style by Kanō Masanobu. The scroll has been designated a National Treasure of Japan.
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Credit: JFS
Both the obverse and reverse of a gold, Meiji era 5 yen coin. This particular proof coin was minted in 1873.
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Lake Ashi is a crater lake in Hakone, Kanagawa. The lake is known for its views of Mount Fuji and its hot springs.
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Credit: Moja
Ginkaku-ji is a Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan. The temple is part of the Shokoku-ji branch of Rinzai Zen.
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Credit: NASA
The four main islands of Japan are shown clearly off the coast of North Korea and South Korea, China and Russia in this true-color image. Running down through the islands are a string of mountains that make up part of the Pacific Ring of Fire.
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Credit: Unknown
Gasshukoku suishi teitoku kōjōgaki (Oral statement by the American Navy admiral) is a Japanese print showing three men, believed to be Commander Anan, Commodore Matthew Perry and Captain Henry Adams, who opened up Japan to the west. The text being read may be President Fillmore's letter to Emperor of Japan.
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Credit: Wiiii
Kanematsu Auditorium, part of Hitotsubashi University's Kunitachi, Tokyo campus.
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Credit: Luis Villa del Campo
The Hōzōmon is the inner of two large entrance gates that ultimately leads to the Sensō-ji in Asakusa, Tokyo. This two-story gate houses many of the Sensō-ji's treasures on its second story, while the first story houses several statues, lanterns and two giant sandals.
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Credit: Unknown
One part of five in the set Extermination of Evil, this hanging scrolls was originally part of a handscroll known as the "second edition of the Masuda family Hell Scroll" before being cut into sections. The God of Heavenly Punishment is shown consuming the ox-headed deity Gozu Tennō, the god of pestilence.
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Credit: Fg2
Ema are small wooden plaques on which Shinto worshipers write their prayers or wishes. They are then left hanging up at a shrine where the kami (spirits or gods) can read them. These ema were placed at Meiji Shrine.
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Located at the Buddhist temple Hōryū-ji, Yumedono (Hall of Dreams) was built on the ground which was once Prince Shōtoku's private palace. The present incarnation of this hall was built in 739 to assuage the Prince's spirit.
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Credit: Torajirō Kasai
A 1900 print depicting a battle between allied English and Japanese troops against Chinese combatants at Beijing Castle during the Boxer Rebellion.
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Panorama shot of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial, commonly known as the Atomic Bomb Dome, is part of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996. The Aioi Bridge, seen at the left side of the image, was the original target of the atomic bombing on August 6, 1945.
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Homelessness has increased sharply in Japan due to the rise in unemployment in the 1990s.
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Credit: Masamic
Tsūjun Bridge is an aqueduct built in 1854 in Yabe. At 84.0 m long, this arch bridge is the largest stone aqueduct in Japan. The Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs has designated the bridge an Important Cultural Property.
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Credit: U.S. Navy
On the morning of May 11, 1945, while supporting the Okinawa invasion, the USS Bunker Hill was hit and severely damaged by two kamikazes.
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Credit: Ma2bara
The Japanese Squirrel (Sciurus lis) is a species of rodent that is endemic to Japan. They are reddish grey and have tufted ears and bushy tails.
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An 1888 Hanabusa Itchō ukiyo-e print illustrating a Buddhist parable showing blind monks examining an elephant.
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Credit: Utagawa Kunisada
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Two Japanese Imperial soldiers who have committed suicide by shooting themselves instead of surrendering to U.S. Marines in Tarawa, Gilbert Islands during World War II.
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Hokusai's South Wind, Clear Sky (also known as Red Fuji), from his seminal work 36 Views of Mount Fuji, is one of the most iconic representations of the Japanese style of art known as ukiyo-e.
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Credit: Library of Congress
A Japanese archer practicing the martial art of Kyūdō
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Credit: Kitagawa Utamaro
Ase o fuku onna (woman wiping sweat), 1798, a ukiyo-e print created by Kitagawa Utamaro.
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Shōki-zu (Shōki striding), c. 1741–1751, a ukiyo-e print in the pillar print format created by Okumura Masanobu.
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Credit: Emperor Saga
Koku Saichō shounin (literally translated as "Cry for noble Saichō") was written by Emperor Saga when Buddhist monk Saichō died. This text is an example of the weakening influence Chinese calligraphy had on the Japanese writing system at the time.
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Credit: Torii Kiyonaga
Onna yu, (Bathhouse women) is a ukiyo-e print by artist Torii Kiyonaga. This copy was printed sometime between 1890 and 1940.
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Credit: Ogata Gekkō
This copy of Ryu sho ten, (Dragon rising to the heavens) is an original ukiyo-e print by artist Ogata Gekkō.
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Credit: Cpl. Lynn P. Walker, Jr
The destroyed remains of a Buddhist temple in Nagasaki, Japan. This picture was taken on September 24, 1945, six weeks after the city was destroyed by the world's second atomic bomb attack.
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Credit: Shuets Udono
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Credit: Kropsoq
Prunus serrulata (Japanese Cherry) is a species of cherry native to Japan, Korea and China. Its flowers are produced in clusters of two to five together at nodes on short spurs in spring. They are white to pink, with five petals in the wild type tree.
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Credit: Dake
An inside schematic view of Little Boy, the atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima. The sections 9 & 11 represent the Uranium-235.
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Drawing of an anime character named "Mahuri". It combines design elements of Mahoro from Mahoromatic and Haruhi from Suzumiya Haruhi no Yūutsu.
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Drawing of a revealing figure named Sythatia that includes typical manga and anime elements. The drawing also illustrates the term ecchi, which describes vague sexual content such as skimpy clothing, partial or full nudity.
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Credit: Hiroshige II
Kishū kumano iwatake tori (Iwatake mushroom gathering at Kumano in Kishu), 1860, a ukiyo-e print created by Hiroshige II. It is part of the series "100 Famous Views of Japan".
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This humorous Kobayashi Kiyochika ukiyo-e print depicts Nicholas II waking from a nightmare showing the battered and wounded Russian forces returning from battle with the Japanese during the Russo-Japanese War.
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Artwork credit: unknown
This large silk-embroidered wall hanging is part of the Khalili Collection of Japanese Art. The embroidery is worked in long and short silk stitch, with a composite imaginary view of Japan, including flowers, shrines, bridges, lakes and forests, with Mount Fuji rising in the distance. The private collection of decorative art, dating from Meiji-era Japan (1868–1912), was assembled by the British-Iranian scholar Nasser D. Khalili. It includes metalwork, enamels, ceramics, and lacquered objects, including works by artists of the imperial court that were exhibited at the Great Exhibitions of the late 19th century.
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Photo credit: Michael Reeve
Women dressed as geisha in Kyoto, Japan. They are wearing traditional kimonos and geta
Geisha (芸者) are traditional Japanese artist-entertainers. Geisha were very common in the 18th and 19th centuries, and are still in existence today, although their numbers are dwindling.
The geisha tradition evolved from the taikomochi or hōkan, similar to court jesters. Geisha were traditionally trained from young childhood although modern geisha begin their training, which remains extremely long and difficult, at much older age.