Photography in Nineteenth-Century Japan - Book Launch at the Daiwa Foundation: Tuesday 30th June 2009
Photography in Nineteenth-Century Japan is the subject of 'A Special Issue of History of Photography' (released for Summer 2009, by Taylor & Francis).
This edition is guest edited by Luke Gartlan, with contributions by Sebastian Dobson, Karen Fraser, Luke Gartlan, Mikiko Hirayama, David Odo and Mio Wakita.
The Daiwa Anglo Foundation will host the launch of the book at the Daiwa Foundation Japan House on Tuesday 30 June 2009, 6.00pm - 8.00pm. If you wish to attend, you must book your place here.
There will be presentations by Dr Luke Gartlan and Sebastian Dobson from 6.00pm chaired by Professor Toshio Watanabe, followed by a drinks reception.
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).
'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.'
