Portret van drie onbekende Japanse vrouwen before 1892

This is a photograph by Douglas Sladen, titled "Portret van drie onbekende Japanse vrouwen," or "Portrait of three unknown Japanese women." Sladen was writing at a time when Western audiences were developing a taste for Japanese art and culture. This photograph, like much of Sladen’s work, exists within a colonial framework, offering a view of Japanese women that caters to Western expectations. Note how the women are posed and presented. Their identities are not foregrounded, they are "three unknown Japanese women." The focus seems less on individual stories and more on presenting a generalized image of Japanese femininity for a Western audience. What does it mean to be seen, but not known? How does this image reflect the power dynamics inherent in the colonial gaze? Consider the emotional distance in the photograph. It invites us to reflect on the complexities of cultural exchange and representation, and the human cost of being viewed through the lens of another culture's expectations.