"To collect photographs is to collect the world."

~ Susan Sontag 'On Photography

 

Kusakabe Kimbei’s photographs reveal a world both distant and deeply human. Working in the late nineteenth century, he mastered the albumen silver print—an early photographic process—and then transformed each image by hand, applying delicate layers of color. His prints, often purchased by travelers eager to bring home a piece of Japan, became treasured souvenirs in the West, even as they quietly documented the landscapes, culture, and spirit of his own country.

What endures in Kimbei’s work is not just his technical mastery, but his devotion to the image itself—the patience of his craft, the precision of his brush, and the respect he brought to each subject. Every photograph speaks of his eye for beauty and his pursuit of perfection in both photography and painting.

More than a century later, we are fortunate to stand before these works, still radiant in their color and clarity, and to glimpse the Japan he so carefully preserved for us.