The people at the end of the Edo period expanded their photographs about 150 years ago and surveyed on November 1, 4:32
People who were not known in detail until now, such as the fact that many people put on a ring when examining the enlarged image of negatives taken and collected by an Austrian who came to Japan in the early Meiji era The way of life became clear.
The University of Tokyo Historical Archives filmed 274 negatives from the end of the Edo period to the early Meiji era, which were photographed and collected by an Austrian photographer who came to Japan in 1869, 150 years ago. The image was enlarged by a computer etc. and investigated in detail.
As a result, it was confirmed that portrait photographs taken at photo studios had people wearing rings regardless of gender and age, and that there were graffiti umbrellas at temples around the country.
In addition, when I expanded a photo that I didn't know in detail so far, I found that there was a wooden pillar with the name of the town, and that it was taken near Zojoji Temple in Minato-ku, Tokyo. That is.
Toru Hoya, director of the University of Tokyo's historical materials compilation, said, “It is now possible to see very fine details that could not be read with printed materials with digital technology. There is no other way to see it. "
Some of these photos will be on display until December 15 at the Minato Ward Local History Museum in Tokyo.
New possibilities for image research
The photos that were the subject of the survey recorded the details of the time when the era changed dramatically from the end of the Edo period to the Meiji period, including the streets of Edo and Tokyo and the people's hospitality at that time.
If you enlarge the portrait, you can see that there was a person wearing a ring.
There are also differences in the fingers that are worn, such as the middle finger, ring finger, and ring finger of the right hand.
You can see the rings of various designs, such as those with fine decorations and stones, indicating the high level of interest in fashion at the time.
According to the University of Tokyo historical materials compilation office, the custom of wedding rings has spread in Japan since the Taisho era, and the meaning of wearing the rings before that was a future research subject.
On the other hand, it was confirmed that the graffiti on the counter umbrella was written on the wall of the Kaikouin building in Sumida Ward, Tokyo.
Although the specific characters are not decipherable, you can see how people's names are written side by side as they are now.
A similar graffiti was confirmed at a temple in Kyoto, indicating that it spread throughout the country from the end of the Edo period to the early Meiji period.
In addition, the photo showing the building of the spirit of Shogun Tokugawa in Zojoji Temple can be confirmed in detail by decorating flowers, birds, dragons, etc., and the figure before it was burned down by an air raid has been revived The
Akiyoshi Tani from the University of Tokyo's historical materials compilation, who conducted the survey, said, “These image materials provide information that is not written in the literature, and I think I can now do new research from both literature and images. ”