The Tomishige Studio and the Development of Domestic Commercial Photography in Meiji Japan (1868-1912)

This dissertation aims to counter the overwhelming impression of early Japanese photography presented in the large body of literature on images produced for the Western market (Yokohama photographs) by examining photographs made for a very different audience---the Japanese themselves. Using the Tomishige Photography Studio as a case study, my project examines the origin and development of domestic commercial photography in the Meiji period (1868-1912), an era of momentous cultural change marked by the rapid modernization of Japan. Founded in Kumamoto in 1870 and still in operation today, the Tomishige Studio archive provides insight into photography production and consumption within Japan, a topic that has been barely examined. The first half of my project focuses on the history of the studio. Chapter One describes the cultural context of the period, highlighting in particular the symbolic role photography played as an instrument of modernization. Chapters Two and Three use primary documents and existing Japanese language studies to examine the establishment of the Tomishige Studio, to position the studio's history within the larger sphere of nineteenth-century Japanese commercial photography, and to illustrate typical studio practices and procedures. The second half of my study analyzes the images, concentrating on portraits in Chapter Four and views in Chapter Five. Here I summarize the wide variety of photographs produced by the Tomishige Studio, identify trends in appearance and subject matter, and offer an analysis of some of the theoretical meanings and deeper implications of the images. Rather than interpreting Tomishige Studio images as merely documenting history, I seek instead to examine them as part of the historical process. I argue that photography performed a mediating function, serving to construct notions of identity for people and places during this period of dramatic change. Portraits reflected officially sanctioned roles for individuals, revealing the dominant social rhetoric, particularly regarding gender stereotypes. Views likewise displayed an official vision of Kumamoto's geographic identity as it negotiated the complex process of modernization.