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was a pioneering Japanese
Image:Kunichika-Kogiku-in-Saruwaka-Cho.jpeg, A contemporary
Anglo-American Name Authority File, s.v. "Matsumoto, Jun", LC Control Number n 80039010
Accessed 11 September 2006. * Bennett, Terry. ''Early Japanese Images'' (Rutland, Vermont: Charles E. Tuttle Company, 1996), 54-56; p. 144, fig. 128. * Ishii, Ayako, and Kotaro Iizawa. "Chronology". In ''The History of Japanese Photography'' (New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 2003), 314. * Kinoshita, Naoyuki. "The Early Years of Japanese Photography". In ''The History of Japanese Photography'' (New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 2003), 27-28. * Orto, Luisa, and Takako Matsuda, compilers. "Artist Profiles". In ''The History of Japanese Photography'' (New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 2003), 365-366. * Tucker, Anne Wilkes, et al. ''The History of Japanese Photography'' (New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 2003), p. 54, pl. 29. * Worswick, Clark. "The Disappearance of Uchida, Kyuichi and the Discovery of Nineteenth-Century Asian Photography." ''Image'', vol. 36, nos. 1-2 (Spring-Summer 1993), p. 16, fig. 1; p. 30, fig. 10. * Worswick, Clark. ''Japan: Photographs 1854-1905'' (New York: Pennwick/Alfred A. Knopf, 1979), p. 41, repr; pp. 136, 148. {{DEFAULTSORT:Uchida, Kuichi Pioneers of photography 19th-century Japanese photographers Artists from Nagasaki Prefecture People of the Meiji era 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis Tuberculosis deaths in Japan 1840s births 1875 deaths Japanese portrait photographers
was a pioneering Japanese photographer
A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who uses a camera to make photographs.
Duties and types of photograp ...
from Nagasaki
, officially , is the capital and the largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan.
Founded by the Portuguese, the port of Portuguese_Nagasaki, Nagasaki became the sole Nanban trade, port used for tr ...
. He was greatly respected as a portrait photographer and was the only photographer granted a sitting to photograph the Emperor Meiji
, posthumously honored as , was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the List of emperors of Japan, traditional order of succession, reigning from 1867 until his death in 1912. His reign is associated with the Meiji Restoration of 1868, which ...
.
Uchida was adopted at the age of 13, following his father's death, by the physician Matsumoto Jun (formerly Matsumoto Ryōjun) (1832–1907), who was at that time studying photography with J. L. C. Pompe van Meerdervoort (1829–1908).
Uchida studied photography under Ueno Hikoma in their native city of Nagasaki. When he was 16 years old, he purchased his first photographic equipment and by 1863, when he was 19, he was importing and selling photographic equipment. He opened his first photographic studio in 1865 with Morita Raizō in Osaka
is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...
, the first studio in that city.Orto and Matsuda, 365.
In 1866 Uchida moved his studio to Bashamichi in Yokohama
is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...
, then in 1869 moved the studio again, this time to the district of Asakusa in Tokyo
Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
. He soon became known as the best portrait photographer in Tokyo.
Having achieved this reputation for excellence, Uchida Kuichi was the only photographer granted a sitting by the Emperor Meiji, who was considered a living deity and rarely seen in public. The portrait session took place in 1872 on a commission by the Imperial Household Ministry to photograph the Emperor and Empress Haruko in full court dress and everyday robes. In 1873, Uchida again photographed the Emperor, who this time wore military dress, and a photograph from this sitting became the official imperial portrait. Copies of the official portrait were distributed among foreign heads of state and Japanese regional governmental offices and schools, but their private sale was prohibited. Nevertheless, many copies of the photograph were made and circulated on the market. The emperor was not photographed again until 1888 or 1889.Kinoshita gives 1888, p. 28. Bennett gives 1889, p. 144, fig. 128.
In 1872 Uchida was commissioned to accompany the emperor on a tour through central Japan and Kyūshū
is the third-largest island of Japan's four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa and the other Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Islands). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regio ...
, and to take photographs of the people and places during the journey. He was not permitted to photograph the emperor, however.Orto and Matsuda, 366.
Uchida was very successful commercially and his life was even the subject of a kabuki
is a classical form of Theatre of Japan, Japanese theatre, mixing dramatic performance with Japanese traditional dance, traditional dance. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily stylised performances, its glamorous, highly decorated costumes ...
play written and performed in 1870.
He died in 1875 of tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...
.
Gallery
ukiyo-e
is a genre of Japanese art that flourished from the 17th through 19th centuries. Its artists produced woodblock printing, woodblock prints and Nikuhitsu-ga, paintings of such subjects as female beauties; kabuki actors and sumo wrestlers; scenes ...
print depicts a beautiful woman looking at a carte de visite with Uchida's stamp.
Image:Empress Consort Haruko.jpg, Portrait of Empress Consort Haruko (posthumously known as Empress Dowager Shōken, consort of Emperor Meiji
, posthumously honored as , was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the List of emperors of Japan, traditional order of succession, reigning from 1867 until his death in 1912. His reign is associated with the Meiji Restoration of 1868, which ...
). Albumen silver print by Uchida Kuichi, 1872.
File:UCHIDA KUICHI Nagasaki.png, Nagasaki, pre-1874
File:JAPAN - C1870`s Nagasaki Ebisu Shrine - UCHIDA KUICHI.png, Nagasaki Ebisu Shrine
File:C1870`s Nagasaki Dejima Island.png, C1870s Nagasaki Dejima Island
File:C1870`s Nagasaki Nakashima River - UCHIDA KUICHI.png, Nagasaki Nakashima River
File:C1870`s Nagasaki Inasa Coast - UCHIDA KUICHI.png, Nagasaki Inasa Coast
Notes
References
Anglo-American Name Authority File, s.v. "Matsumoto, Jun", LC Control Number n 80039010
Accessed 11 September 2006. * Bennett, Terry. ''Early Japanese Images'' (Rutland, Vermont: Charles E. Tuttle Company, 1996), 54-56; p. 144, fig. 128. * Ishii, Ayako, and Kotaro Iizawa. "Chronology". In ''The History of Japanese Photography'' (New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 2003), 314. * Kinoshita, Naoyuki. "The Early Years of Japanese Photography". In ''The History of Japanese Photography'' (New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 2003), 27-28. * Orto, Luisa, and Takako Matsuda, compilers. "Artist Profiles". In ''The History of Japanese Photography'' (New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 2003), 365-366. * Tucker, Anne Wilkes, et al. ''The History of Japanese Photography'' (New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 2003), p. 54, pl. 29. * Worswick, Clark. "The Disappearance of Uchida, Kyuichi and the Discovery of Nineteenth-Century Asian Photography." ''Image'', vol. 36, nos. 1-2 (Spring-Summer 1993), p. 16, fig. 1; p. 30, fig. 10. * Worswick, Clark. ''Japan: Photographs 1854-1905'' (New York: Pennwick/Alfred A. Knopf, 1979), p. 41, repr; pp. 136, 148. {{DEFAULTSORT:Uchida, Kuichi Pioneers of photography 19th-century Japanese photographers Artists from Nagasaki Prefecture People of the Meiji era 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis Tuberculosis deaths in Japan 1840s births 1875 deaths Japanese portrait photographers