Once Upon a Time…in Japan
We’ve never been to Japan. But we came across these images from the 1880s by Italian photographer Adolfo Farsari and we were amazed. Farsari was one of very few if any Europeans allowed access to the Japanese interior in the 1800s. He shot numerous photos (painstakingly hand-tinted) of rural life. The images are astounding and remind us of how completely different and foreign Japan must have been to Westerners when they first saw these pictures. The places and people seem mythical and fantastical…right out of a storybook of fantastic other-worldly kingdoms. Farsari’s images even inspired other artists and certainly exposed the rest of the world to the beauty of traditional Japan. Read more about Farsari and see more of his splendid images at Quazen, we’re sure you’ll be inspired.
Adolfo Farsari – The Man Who Shot Old Japan (via Neatorama)