Uchida Kuichi

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Uchida Kuichi ( Japanese 内 田 九 一 ; * 1844 ( traditional date : Kōka 1) in Nagasaki ; † February 17, 1875 in Tokyo ) was a Japanese photographer. He was best known for his recordings of the Emperor Meiji .

Official portrait of Emperor Meiji, taken by Uchida Kuichi in 1872
Official portrait of Emperor Meiji, taken by Uchida Kuichi in 1873

Uchida Kuichi's interest in photography probably stems from contact with Johannes Pompe van Meerdervort , a Dutch chemist who taught at the Nagasaki Naval Training Center . At the beginning of the 1860s, he learned to photograph with wet collodion plates from Ueno Hikoma . At first he earned his living importing and selling photo accessories. Together with Morita Raizō , he opened Osaka's first photo studio in 1865 , a year later a studio in Bashamichi , Yokohama and then in 1869 in the Asakusa district of Tokyo. His life became the basis of a kabuki piece in 1870.

In Tokyo, Uchida Kuichi was considered one of the best portrait photographers . In 1872 he was commissioned by the imperial court to take the first official, photographic portrait of Emperor Meiji. This showed him in traditional court clothing. Due to the fear that the portrait could be perceived as too backward in public perception, the emperor was photographed again by Uchida Kuichi in October of the following year, this time in a western-inspired uniform and with a short haircut and beard. The picture has now become the official portrait of the emperor.

However, the traditional clothing in the 1872 photograph of Empress Haruko did not constitute an obstacle to publication as an official portrait.

These portraits were necessary for the exchange according to diplomatic protocol. Drafts were issued to regional government agencies as well as public schools. The sale, however, was prohibited, but it flourished widely, as did the woodcuts, steel engravings and lithographs of the imperial face, which until then had never been known to a wider public.

In 1872 Uchida Kuichi documented the places visited and the receptions prepared on a tour of central Japan and Kyūshū in the emperor's entourage. He was not allowed to photograph the emperor himself.

In 1875, Uchida Kuichi died of tuberculosis.

As part of the preparations for the new constitution , Edoardo Chiossone was commissioned in 1888 to portray the emperor in Conté chalk. This drawing was photographed by Maruki Riyō and the prints were considered a new official portrait.

Uchida's photographs of the imperial couple also served as the basis for paintings. So they were sent to Giuseppe Ugolini in Milan, who made two oval oil paintings of them, which were exhibited in the imperial palace after their arrival in 1875, along with other state portraits of Ugolini . In 1880, Takahashi Yuichi painted another picture based on the photographic model on behalf of Genrōin .

literature

  • Karen Fraser, Uchida Kuichi (1844 - 1875) , in: John Hannavy (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Nineteenth Century Photography , Vol. 2, New York et al .: Routledge 2005, p. 1415. ISBN 978-0415972352
  • Luisa Orto, Uchida Kuichi , in: Anne Tucker ao, History of Japanese Photography , New Haven ao: Yale Univ. Press: 2003, pp. 365-366. ISBN 0-89090-112-0

Web links

Commons : Uchida Kuichi  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Digital edition of the Nihon Jinmei Daijiten . Kodansha, 2009, online at kotobank.jp
  2. ↑ Karen Fraser, Uchida Kuichi (1844 - 1875) , in: John Hannavy (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Nineteenth Century Photography , Vol. 2, New York et al .: Routledge 2005, p. 1415. ISBN 978-0415972352
  3. ↑ Luisa Orto, Uchida Kuichi , in: Anne Tucker et al., History of Japanese Photography , New Haven et al.: Yale Univ. Press: 2003, pp. 365-366, pp. 365 f. ISBN 0-89090-112-0
  4. ↑ This portrait is on p. 25 in: Anne Tucker et al., History of Japanese Photography , New Haven et al: Yale Univ. Press: 2003. ISBN 0-89090-112-0 shown in a wooden display .
  5. ↑ Karen Fraser, Uchida Kuichi (1844 - 1875) , in: John Hannavy (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Nineteenth Century Photography , Vol. 2, New York et al .: Routledge 2005, p. 1415. ISBN 978-0415972352
  6. ↑ Kinoshita Naoyaki, The Early Years of Japanese Photography , in: History of Japanese Photography, pp 14-99, p 27th
  7. ↑ Kinoshita Naoyaki, The Early Years of Japanese Photography , in: Anne Tucker, among others, History of Japanese Photography , New Haven include: Yale Univ. Press: 2003, pp. 14-99, p. 28. ISBN 0-89090-112-0
  8. ^ Luisa Orto, Uchida Kuichi , in: Anne Tucker et al., History of Japanese Photography , New Haven et al.: Yale Univ. Press: 2003, pp. 365-366, p. 366. ISBN 0-89090-112-0
  9. ↑ Karen Fraser, Uchida Kuichi (1844 - 1875) , in: John Hannavy (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Nineteenth Century Photography , Vol. 2, New York et al .: Routledge 2005, p. 1415. ISBN 978-0415972352
  10. ↑ Kinoshita Naoyaki, The Early Years of Japanese Photography , in: Anne Tucker, among others, History of Japanese Photography , New Haven include: Yale Univ. Press: 2003, pp. 14-99, p. 28. ISBN 0-89090-112-0
Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . So Uchida is the family name, Kuichi the first name.
personal data
SURNAME Uchida, Kuichi
ALTERNATIVE NAMES 内 田 九 一 (Japanese)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Japanese photographer
DATE OF BIRTH 1844
PLACE OF BIRTH Nagasaki
DATE OF DEATH February 17, 1875
Place of death Tokyo