Random Japanese Snapshots 8

 

Time to finish up this small collection.  To recap, I bought a small envelope of photos from an eBay seller in Japan.  Do they all come from the same source, or are they just a bunch of random snapshots packaged together?  Anyway, I didn't see any people showing up in multiple images, so I'm going with random.  This is the one thing I keep wondering.  How many of these photos were taken before the war, and how many after.   Considering how many Japanese citizens died in the war, it's likely that at least some of the pre-war photos show people who were dead within four or five years.  And a lot of people in these photos are pretty young.  The bottom photo in the column is of schoolgirls. Click on Random Japanese Snapshots Collection in labels to see all the photos in the collection. 

Random Japanese Snapshots 7

 

This is probably the penultimate post from this collection.   To recap, I bought an envelope of snapshots from an eBay seller in Japan.  I have no idea if the photos are from the same source, or if the seller just threw a bunch of random snapshots together into a single lot.  Anyway, click on Random Japanese Snapshots Collection in labels to see the rest.  

Random Japanese Snapshots 6

  

I'm still having problems with the scanner, so when it started working again, I figured I should get something posted while I still could.  So, a photo plus what's written on the back from an envelope of photos I purchased from an eBay seller in Japan.  And once again, if anyone out there can translate what's written on the back of the print, please leave it as a comment.  Click on random Japanese snapshots collection in labels to see what's already been published. 

Random Japanese Snapshots 5

Since my scanner inexplicably stopped working and then, equally mysteriously, began working again,  I've decided to put up another post from the Random Japanese Snapshots Collection (Click on that in labels to see more.)  Anyway, there's nothing written on the back of any of these prints, but there is a stamp on the back of the middle photo with the truck.  "28. 2. 27" I'm tempted to think that's a date in the European style with the date first, then the month, and then the year.  But the truck doesn't look that old. My guess is it's from the forties or early fifties, which would make this a post-war photograph.  
 

Random Japanese Snapshots 4

 

Well, I haven't put up anything for a while, so it just seemed easy to put up another image from this collection.  So, to recap, I bought an envelope of photos from an eBay seller in Japan.  I don't know whether they are all from the same family, or just random photos with no relationship to each other at all.  I'm guessing random since I haven't really seen any repeat people.  Too, I'm putting up multiple images per post if there is nothing written on the back, but one only if there is a notation, which because I don't speak or read Japanese, I can't translate.  If anyone can, please help me out with a translation in the comments.   To see everything that's up, with more to come, click on random Japanese Snapshots Collection in labels and bring up what's been posted. 

Random Japanese Snapshots 3

 

I recently purchased an envelope full of snapshots from an eBay seller in Japan.  They may be random, or they may all be from the same family.  I just don't know.  Anyway, I'm still figuring out how I'm going to post them and in what order.  The only thing I'm sure of is that those photos with writing on the back will be placed in a single posting.  I don't speak Japanese, and I can't really use Google Translate, so if someone out there speaks and reads Japanese, a translation would be welcome.  Just knowing that I've got it right side up would also be helpful.  Click on Random Japanese snapshots collection in labels to see what's been published.  More to come. 

The Tent Dinner Party

 

This is another photo that I picked up from an eBay seller in Japan, but no, it's not part of the Random Japanese Snapshot Collection.  Anyway, I'm thinking that this photo is from post-war Japan.  It looks like there are a handful of non-Asian faces in the crowd, not to mention the Rainer Beer bottles on the tables.  There's a book out there called Embracing Defeat which is about how Japan and the Japanese accepted that they had lost the war, rejected militarism, and got on with their lives as best they could, which was the foundation of the post-war Japanese economic miracle.  When I saw this photo, I suspected that it's an illustration of that concept. 

Random Japanese Snapshots 2

 

 Time to return to the Random Japanese Snapshot Collection.  As I mentioned in part 1, I purchased an envelope of small snapshots from an eBay seller in Japan.  I really have no idea how random they actually are. For all I know they all came from the same family, or maybe they have no relationship to each other.  So far, there aren't that many to see, but click on Random Japanese Snapshots Collection in labels to see what's what. I'm just guessing, but I'm thinking pre-World War 2. 

Random Japanese Snapshots 1

 

Despite money being tight right now, I recently purchased an envelope of random Japanese snapshots.  Well, I don't know that for sure.  For all I know they all come from the same family which makes them far less random.  Anyway, I have a couple with some writing on the back.  They'll be published with a scan of the back that, with any luck, someone can translate for me, or at the very least tell me if they're upside down.  Some will be posted in lots of three, but I'm starting with a one-off of this group shot in the snow.  I'm thinking class photo considering the institutional-type building in the background.  Eventually, when I get around to putting more up, click on Random Japanese Snapshots Collection in labels to bring everything up. 

A Japanese Class Photo

 

I don't do it often because shipping has a tendency to be expensive, but from time to time, I go on eBay and purchase photos from overseas.  So, is this a Japanese class photo or the staff of the local building supply store?  I'm betting it's a class photo with the older-looking men as faculty, and the younger-looking guys, the students. Anyway, I don't speak or read Japanese, so the caption that's on the back may tell the real story, and for anyone who can translate, do me a favor and leave one in comments. 

Proof Sheet

 

Cut out from a proof sheet, a contact print made from an entire roll of film.  120 film by the look of it.  Just going by the age and the people, I'm guessing this photo was taken in Japan, sometime near the end of the American occupation of Japan.  A bit before, a bit after. 

Post War

 

My first thought, with the barracks like building in the background, was that this was a photograph of one the interment camps where we imprisoned Japanese Americans.  But then, I noticed that the shoulder badge on the soldier on the right was an air core insignia, so I realized it must be post war occupied Japan.   

Water Carts

This isn't the first version of The New Found Photography.  The earlier blog only had so much free bandwidth, after which I would have to buy more.  Because of that, I got in the habit of typing out what was on the back of photos.  Anyway, I'll still try and figure out the hand written stuff and then hunt and peck my way through a translation.  But, I'm done with transcribing stuff like this, so click on the text and read about captured water carts for yourself. 

So, another stereo card from T.W. Ingersoll, this one from the Russo-Japanese War.  1904-1905, the first time an Asian power defeated one from Europe, that is if Russia could actually be called a real power.  Not even the Russian alliance with Montenegro could save them.

Asia or America

Perhaps American tourists is Asia, or American tourists in one of the many Japanese gardens that seem to show up in public parks all over the United States.  I picked this one up in Los Angeles.  That pushes the odds towards California, but L.A. is a sea port, so maybe not. 

Samurai

Written on the back, "This Poster Is Good Shot."   I agree.

Japanese Students

This shouldn't' be read as an endorsement of eBay.  Like many others I've had a few bad experiences with the site.  Still, as a collector of old photographs, and as someone old enough to remember a world with out an internet,  I'm always amazed that I can buy a photo from Japan and have it delivered to my door in less than a week.

Anyway, both of these pictures were pasted on the same card, one on the front, and one on the back.  I scanned the card in hopes that someone can translate the writing and leave it as a comment, and then did the photo alone.  The back of the card, with the second image, is just plain green with neither writing or textured surface, so who knows if the card was meant to have photographs on both sides.  Since nothing was lost, I just scanned the photo.  The card is just a bit bigger than wallet size, so maybe a parent just glued the second shot on the back to keep pictures of the kids all together.

She's a Bear

I don't know when this postcard was made, but I, at least, have a date range on when the photo was taken.  Construction began on the U.S.S. California in 1916, after the beginning of World War 1, but a year or so before  U.S. entry into the conflict.  She wasn't launched until 1919, so the California  didn't see any action in the war to end all wars.  After being commissioned, the California became the flagship of America's Pacific Fleet.  I wasn't able to find out when she lost that status, but I do know the California was one of the battleships sunk at Pearl Harbor.  She was raised and repaired enough that she was able to steam to  Bremerton, Washington, under her own power, for a complete refit.  There, her two funnels were combined in a single stack, and her superstructure was completely redesigned.  Since this photo shows a ship with twin funnels, clearly it was taken between 1919 and 1941. The California returned to active duty in 1944, missing most of the war in the Pacific.  She did see service during the American invasion of the Philippines, but was severely damaged by a kamikaze hit, which meant another return to the west coast for more repairs.  The California was back on duty for the invasion of Okinawa.  After the war ended, unable to fit through the Panama Canal, The California made a trip around the southern tip of Africa to the east coast of the United States, where she was transferred to the reserve list in 1946.  She was decommissioned in 1947 and sold for scrap in 1959.  One of the things learned in World War 2 was that the age of battleships was over.  Naval warfare would now be dominated by submarines, aircraft carriers and smaller ships.  Despite all the money and time spent to build, repair, and refit the California, she never played a truly significant part in any war.  

Touring Japan

A lot of Japan got destroyed during World War 2.  I've always felt that one of the worst things about war is that it destroys cultures, as well as killing people.

Views of the World, Street Scene, Tokyo, Japan

I promised I'd finish this collection by the end of the year, so, it's time for the last three of the lot.  (Click on Views of the World in labels to see more.)

Needless to say, there's far too much information about Tokyo, on line, to type it all up.  So, don't be lazy, look it up.  In a nutshell, Tokyo started out as a small fishing village known as Edo.  It was first fortified by the Edo clan in the late 12th century.  Edo Castle, now the sight of the Imperial Palace, was built in 1457.  In 1868, Edo became the capital of Japan, and it's name was changed to Tokyo, which means eastern capital.  Today, Tokyo is the largest metropolitan area in the world.

Gachinko

A nice thing about eBay is that I can purchase old photos from anywhere in the world.   (That is when I can afford 'em, which isn't often.)   Anyway, I found this nice photo of young baseball players from a seller in Japan.  At first I was a bit confused.  Why were  these Japanese baseball players wearing jerseys with English lettering?  Was it possible that this picture was taken in someplace like Fresno, and mailed back to family in someplace like Tokyo?   Then I did some research and discovered that the logos for all the teams in the Japanese major leagues are in English.  The only explanation I could think of was that baseball originated in the United States and Japanese baseball fans crave authenticity, so English it is.

But what does that word mean?  The first thing I had to do was determine the first letter.  Is that an F, so Fachi, or maybe Jachi, or Tachi?  The only other letter I thought it could be was G,  so I typed Gachi into the search engine and found a match on a site dedicated to Japanese slang.  Gachi, a game played earnestly, from sumo wrestling, short for Gachinko.  It might not be right, but it fits.