Ukai Gyokusen
Encyclopedia
was a pioneering Japan
ese photographer. Although he is much less well known than his contemporaries Shimooka Renjō
and Ueno Hikoma
, he is important for being the first Japanese professional photographer, having established a photographic studio
in Edo
(now Tokyo
) in 1860 or 1861.
Ukai was born in what is now Ishioka
, Ibaraki Prefecture
, the youngest of four brothers. The family was well-off, Ukai's father being a finance commissioner for the daimyo
Matsudaira Jijū Yorisaki. When Ukai was thirteen, he was adopted by the sake supplier to another daimyo, Mikawaya, and he thus became a merchant. Ukai developed an interest in art and antiques after coming to know the bunjinga
painter Tani Bunchō
, and in 1831 he left the sake business to become a full-time artist.
In 1859, with the intention of learning photographic technique, Ukai travelled to Yokohama
, one of the few Japanese cities to which foreigners had access and therefore (with Nagasaki) one of the early sites of photography in Japan. Ukai was taught by American
photographer Orrin Freeman
, whose camera and equipment he eventually may have bought. In 1860 or 1861 he moved to Edo and set up a studio which he called Eishin-dō that was mentioned in a late 1861 publication titled Ō-Edo tōsei hanakurabe shohen. By operating in Edo, a city that excluded foreigners, Ukai was unlike Shimooka, Ueno and others whose clientele was predominantly foreign residents and visitors. Instead, Ukai photographed those few Japanese who both knew of photography and could afford to sit for a portrait. Within a few years, Ukai managed to produce over two hundred ambrotype
portraits of members of the aristocracy. He closed his studio in 1867.
In 1879 Ukai worked for the Treasury Printing Office, travelling through western Japan for five months with the Office's director, inspecting and photographing antiquities. The findings of this research were published between 1880 and 1881 as Kokka Yohō , featuring lithographs derived from photographs by Ukai.
In 1883 Ukai buried several hundred of his glass negatives at Yanaka Cemetery
in Tokyo. A monument placed at the site included carved biographical details that were supplemented four years later when Ukai died and was himself interred at the spot. The glass negatives were unearthed in 1956 and reported in the periodical Sun Shashin Shimbun.
Of the many unattributed Japanese ambrotypes to have survived from the 1860s, some were probably produced by Ukai. One photograph that has been positively identified as his work is an 1863 portrait of Miura Shushin.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese photographer. Although he is much less well known than his contemporaries Shimooka Renjō
Shimooka Renjo
was a renowned Japanese photographer.- External links :*...
and Ueno Hikoma
Ueno Hikoma
was a pioneer Japanese photographer, born in Nagasaki. He is noted for his fine portraits, often of important Japanese and foreign figures, and for his excellent landscapes, particularly of Nagasaki and its surroundings...
, he is important for being the first Japanese professional photographer, having established a photographic studio
Photographic studio
A photographic studio is both a workspace and a corporate body. As a workspace it is much like an artist’s studio, but providing space to take, develop, print and duplicate photographs. Photographic training and the display of finished photographs may also be accommodated in a photographic studio...
in Edo
Edo
, also romanized as Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo, and was the seat of power for the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868...
(now Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
) in 1860 or 1861.
Ukai was born in what is now Ishioka
Ishioka, Ibaraki
is a city located in Ibaraki, Japan.As of 2003, the city has an estimated population of 52,755 and the density of 885.15 persons per km². The total area is 59.60 km².The city was founded on February 11, 1954....
, Ibaraki Prefecture
Ibaraki Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan, located in the Kantō region on the main island of Honshu. The capital is Mito.-History:Ibaraki Prefecture was previously known as Hitachi Province...
, the youngest of four brothers. The family was well-off, Ukai's father being a finance commissioner for the daimyo
Daimyo
is a generic term referring to the powerful territorial lords in pre-modern Japan who ruled most of the country from their vast, hereditary land holdings...
Matsudaira Jijū Yorisaki. When Ukai was thirteen, he was adopted by the sake supplier to another daimyo, Mikawaya, and he thus became a merchant. Ukai developed an interest in art and antiques after coming to know the bunjinga
Nanga (Japanese painting)
, also known as , was a school of Japanese painting which flourished in the late Edo period among artists who considered themselves literati, or intellectuals. While each of these artists was, almost by definition, unique and independent, they all shared an admiration for traditional Chinese culture...
painter Tani Bunchō
Tani Buncho
was a Japanese literati painter and poet.He was the son of the poet Tani Rokkoku . As his family were retainers of the Tayasu Family and descendents of the eighth Tokugawa shogun, Bunchō inherited samurai status and received a stipend to meet the responsibilities this entailed...
, and in 1831 he left the sake business to become a full-time artist.
In 1859, with the intention of learning photographic technique, Ukai travelled to Yokohama
Yokohama
is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
, one of the few Japanese cities to which foreigners had access and therefore (with Nagasaki) one of the early sites of photography in Japan. Ukai was taught by American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
photographer Orrin Freeman
Orrin Freeman
Orrin Erastus Freeman was an American professional photographer in China and Japan. Freeman worked in the ambrotype process.For a short time, Freeman opened a photography studio in Shanghai in 1859 before leaving China for Japan....
, whose camera and equipment he eventually may have bought. In 1860 or 1861 he moved to Edo and set up a studio which he called Eishin-dō that was mentioned in a late 1861 publication titled Ō-Edo tōsei hanakurabe shohen. By operating in Edo, a city that excluded foreigners, Ukai was unlike Shimooka, Ueno and others whose clientele was predominantly foreign residents and visitors. Instead, Ukai photographed those few Japanese who both knew of photography and could afford to sit for a portrait. Within a few years, Ukai managed to produce over two hundred ambrotype
Ambrotype
right|thumb|Many ambrotypes were made by unknown photographers, such as this American example of a small girl holding a flower, circa 1860. Because of their fragility ambrotypes were held in folding cases much like those used for [[daguerreotype]]s...
portraits of members of the aristocracy. He closed his studio in 1867.
In 1879 Ukai worked for the Treasury Printing Office, travelling through western Japan for five months with the Office's director, inspecting and photographing antiquities. The findings of this research were published between 1880 and 1881 as Kokka Yohō , featuring lithographs derived from photographs by Ukai.
In 1883 Ukai buried several hundred of his glass negatives at Yanaka Cemetery
Yanaka Cemetery
is a large cemetery located north of Ueno in Yanaka 7-chome, Taito, Tokyo, Japan. The Yanaka sector of Taito is one of the few Tokyo neighborhoods in which the old Shitamachi atmosphere can still be felt...
in Tokyo. A monument placed at the site included carved biographical details that were supplemented four years later when Ukai died and was himself interred at the spot. The glass negatives were unearthed in 1956 and reported in the periodical Sun Shashin Shimbun.
Of the many unattributed Japanese ambrotypes to have survived from the 1860s, some were probably produced by Ukai. One photograph that has been positively identified as his work is an 1863 portrait of Miura Shushin.