Coree

1923 · 220274 — Taisho 12 1923. Over fifty black and white photographs annotated laid down in concertina style cloth covered photograph album 18 x 26.5cm most photographs measure 9.3 x 13.5cm nine measure 10 x 7cm. Some silvering of photographs but most are in very good condition. A fascinating concertina-folded album of high-quality photos dating from 1923 and showing Japanese military training exercises in northeastern Korea as well as scenes of everyday life in the surrounding region including the Ranam Cheongjin Hoeryong and Gando areas. Many of the photos appear to have been produced by a professional photographer but acquired by the soldier who has created this album who has added his own annotations based on personal experience. <br> <br>The first photo shows an inset portrait of a soldier named Takuuchi next to the flag of the Japanese Imperial Army's 75th Infantry Division. This is followed by a series of photos of Japanese colonial buildings in Korea including the military base of the 75th Infantry Base an overview of the city of Hoeryong on which the owner has placed a cross in ink marking the location of the recently contructed Hoeryong Shinto Shrine Heoryong's hospital and railway station and a street in the city centre an overview of Cheongjin and a panoramic overview of Ranam City also with the Ranam Shinto Shrine marked with a cross. The attention paid to these shrines which were crucial symbols of Japanese colonial rule emphasises the album creator's nationalist sentiment. There are two images of the landscape of the Tuman River and a photo of sacks of soy beans being unloaded in Gando. Other photos show scenes of everyday life including women washing clothes and grinding grain and two photos of a Korean wedding ceremony. A few of these photos including one of a village of thatched-roofed houses are in a smaller format than the images in the rest of the album and may have been taken by the album's owner himself. Twenty of the photos show 1923 training exercises conducted by the 75th Infantry Division in the Ranam area. These have also been annotated with the album owner's comments providing extra information about the content of the photos. The album concludes with two striking images of thick ice on a river probably the Tuman and of the Hoeryong Shinto Shrine in late evening. . hardcover