Information and discussion on all aspects of British photographic history

Exhibition: Shimooka Renjō a retrospective

The first large-scale retrospective on Shimooka Renjo opens in Tokyo at the Metropolitan Museum of Photography on 4 March until 6 May 2014. Shimooka Renjo (1823-1914) was a pioneer of photography in Japan who worked mostly in Yokohama, yet until recent years few photographs have been positively attributed to him and little information on his life and work has been available in English.

This show, which brings together over 250 of his works, including his paintings, will be of interest especially to those with collections of old Japanese photographs. Renjo had many foreign customers in Yokohama and it is believed that many of his photographs are as yet unidentified in collections outside of Japan.

The exhibition catalog (to be published as a book by Kokushokankokai) with full English translation including research that will help date Renjo's hand-colored photographs. Renjo is believed to have received some tutelage in photography from Charles Miller Collins (1820-1909) an amateur photographer and fleet engineer in the Royal Navy who used a stereo camera to take views in Yokohama in 1862. More information and images at http://syabi.com/e/contents/exhibition/index-2144.html

A retrospective on Shimooka Renjō
100 years after his death

Period： March 4 (Tue) - May 6 (Tue)
Closed Day：Monday(if Monday is a national holiday or a substitute holiday, it is the next day)
Admission：Adults ￥700／College Students ￥600／High School and Junior High School Students, and those over 65 ￥500

Lower image: Kimura Masanobu by Shimooka Renjo, Collodion positive.