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Photographs of 19th Century Japan

(cosmographia.substack.com)
444 points merothwell | 3 comments | 09 Apr 25 12:20 UTC | HN request time: 0.001s | source
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voidUpdate ◴[10 Apr 25 08:34 UTC] No.43641951[source]▶
What surprised me the most is the picture of the Buddhist Monks. I've always associated them with those orange robes, but the patchwork of bright colours almost makes me think of a kids show host. Is this something that has evolved over time, or is it like a rank thing? Apologies for my ignorance
replies(2): >>43642079 #>>43642253 #
1. pilaf ◴[10 Apr 25 08:59 UTC] No.43642079[source]▶
These photos look colorized. Likely not the original colors of those robes.
replies(1): >>43642256 #
2. voidUpdate ◴[10 Apr 25 09:31 UTC] No.43642256[source]▶
As stated in TFA, the pictures were originally black and white and were colourised at the time. I cant find a record of who colourised them or when, but it sems to me like they were colourised shortly after by the original photographer, and as such the colours would be reasonably accurate. You can see lightness and texture changes that would imply to me that there were changes in the material at the time of the picture being taken, even if it was colourised incorrectly
replies(1): >>43650000 #
3. pilaf ◴[11 Apr 25 02:41 UTC] No.43650000[source]▶
There are several other colorized versions of that same photo online, all with very different color choices, so I wouldn't be too sure about the accuracy of TFA's version:

https://www.meijishowa.com/photography/6451/190102-0009-pp-b...

https://sekiei.nichibun.ac.jp/KSA/en/detail/?gid=G0203359

https://www.album-online.com/detail/en/NDAzZGUwMA/two-buddhi...

There's also more information about the exact version from the article here [1], although it doesn't clarify whether the photographer and the person who colorized it are separate people.

1: https://sova.si.edu/record/fsa.a1999.35/ref484