Photography in Nineteenth-Century Japan: journal launch

A Special Issue of History of Photography (Summer 2009, Taylor & Francis) guest edited by Luke Gartlan, with contributions by Sebastian Dobson, Karen Fraser, Luke Gartlan, Mikiko Hirayama, David Odo and Mio Wakita.

Presentations by Dr Luke Gartlan and Sebastian Dobson from 6.00pm chaired by Professor Toshio Watanabe, followed by a drinks reception. The event is free but tickets, which are limited, need to be booked in advance.

From the earliest accounts of its arrival in Japan, the camera has played a key role in the visual culture of Japanese society. In this provocative collection of essays, six renowned scholars have highlighted the historical diversity and significance of photography as a medium par excellence of Japanese visual modernity. Luke Gartlan and Sebastian Dobson will present their most recent research on the domestic enthusiasm and complex socio-political uses of photography in late Edo and early Meiji Japan. What role did photography play in negotiating the emergence of Japanese modernity? How do its diverse historical applications, in both everyday and official government contexts, challenge our understanding of the period? Avoiding the tendency to impose unifying historical narratives, these papers will present detailed case studies of key moments in the history of photography’s arrival in Japan which raise broader issues central to current debates on the era’s visual culture.

This issue of History of Photography will be available on the day at the special price of £15 (normally only available via subscription for £40 per issue).