Japanese Photographs

Source

In this photograph captured by Tamamura Kozaburo depicts the three people dressed as characters for New Year's Day. The middle appears to give the impression of a daruma, a doll to symbolize the wishes for the New Year. The other two figures look masks from theatre or another type of performance. The one on the left looks like a woman's face, while the one on the right almost looks like a tengu or even one of the faces of the white men from earlier in the class. All the figures seem to be trying to portray a story in which motion commences. On the site where I first saw this photograph it remarks that this tradition has faded away and is not seen anymore. I found that interesting to do this tradition because it obviously was larger in the Meiji era and the feeling I got from the photo was this was fun New Year's activity for the young children.