In 1854, after two centuries of voluntary isolation for fear of colonial invasion, the United States forced the “Land of the Rising Sun” to open up to the West. At the same time, photography was introduced to Japan, and quickly became a great success.

Photographic studios were set up, run by foreign professionals who had come to live in the archipelago. Among them, the Anglo-Italian Felice Beato and the Italian Adolfo Farsari, portrayed a Japanese society steeped in age-old traditions: portraits of samurai in kendo gear, scenes of “typical” trades, landscapes and agricultural crops… The images we produce are as much a reflection of reality, of disappearing traditions, as they are of backward-looking or dreamlike scenes. Shots are either taken on location or carefully composed in the studio, with the photographers not hesitating to call on extras.