This year marks the 100th anniversary of photography, and many exhibitions are being held to celebrate this milestone and the following. One of them focuses on the introduction of photography to Japan. In 1641, the Dutch established a trading post on Dejima, an artificial island in the harbour of Nagasaki. Until 1859, Dejima was the main point of contact between Japan and the Western world. As photography developed, it eventually reached Japan too. The exhibition Light over Deshima, at Japan Museum SieboldHuis in Leiden, explores the early days of photography in nineteenth-century Japan and the exchange of knowledge between Japanese and Dutch pioneers. It features more than 100 photographs, historic cameras, and other photographic equipment. The exhibition offers a fascinating glimpse into a rapidly changing Japan and highlights the long-standing relationship between the two countries. It must have been quite special when photographs of samurai, geishas, and other important Japanese figures first reached the West! Overall, I really enjoyed the exhibition, especially the landscape photographs, which I found more interesting than the portraits of Japanese people.
