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Photographs of 19th Century Japan

(cosmographia.substack.com)
444 points merothwell | 4 comments | 09 Apr 25 12:20 UTC | HN request time: 0.001s | source
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decimalenough ◴[09 Apr 25 23:02 UTC] No.43638925[source]▶
Having visited last year, the scenery around Toshogu Shrine in Nikko isn't all that different, if you manage to visit like we did first thing in the morning as soon as they open and before the tour buses rock up. (The shrine is surrounded by acres of sacred forest where construction is prohibited.)

The cities like Kobe and Nagasaki, on the other hand, are completely unrecognizable.

replies(2): >>43641408 #>>43641685 #
ekianjo ◴[10 Apr 25 07:53 UTC] No.43641685[source]▶
> The cities like Kobe and Nagasaki, on the other hand, are completely unrecognizable.

getting utterly destroyed by fire bombing (or atomic bombs in the case of Nagasaki) does that to cities.

replies(1): >>43642041 #
1. decimalenough ◴[10 Apr 25 08:52 UTC] No.43642041[source]▶
Kyoto was never bombed, but outside a very few carefully curated touristy bits, it's still an ugly AF concrete jungle that looks nothing like these pictures.
replies(2): >>43642493 #>>43642691 #
2. ekianjo ◴[10 Apr 25 11:00 UTC] No.43642691[source]▶
Not the central part of Kyoto. You can walk in areas like Gion that have mostly remained the same for centuries. Of course as cities get bigger you get concrete. just like other cities Kyoto has grown in the 20th century and at some point you need concrete instead of wood
replies(1): >>43642784 #
3. decimalenough ◴[10 Apr 25 11:26 UTC] No.43642784[source]▶
Gion and Sannenzaka are the very definition of touristy Kyoto.
replies(1): >>43663853 #
4. ekianjo ◴[12 Apr 25 12:37 UTC] No.43663853{3}[source]▶
They are touristy because they are authentic in the first place.