Gezicht op de weg langs Shinobazu Pond in Uenopark in Tokyo, Japan before 1897

This photograph, "View of the Road Along Shinobazu Pond in Ueno Park in Tokyo, Japan," was taken by Kazumasa Ogawa, who was one of the most important photographers in Japan. Ogawa was a pioneer of photographic printing, and his expertise in the collotype process shines through in this image. Collotype is a demanding printing technique, requiring the application of a light-sensitive gelatin coating to a glass plate, which is then exposed to a negative. The subtle tonal gradations visible here are a testament to the time-intensive method. The choice of photography itself speaks to the modernization of Japan during the Meiji era, when traditional artistic practices met with Western technologies and modes of production. While photography was originally seen as a way to simply record the world, artists like Ogawa were able to transform the craft into a means of artistic expression, elevating its status to that of painting or printmaking. It’s through attention to the materials and processes of image-making that we can understand the complex cultural negotiations happening at the time.