Bull. Soc. Photogr. Imag. Japan. (2023) Vol. 33 No. 2: 10–16

Review

Rephotography of the Photo Album “Kaho Shōkyō”
Yukihide SHIRAISHI a*, Koki SHIRAISHI b, Hideki SHIRAISHI b, Takayuki SHIRAISHI b,
and Gonshiro SHIRAISHI c

Abstract: ephotography is the process of repeatedly photographing the same location with a time lag between the photographs. During theR
Meiji era, when photographs were rare, they were left as a record of extraordinary events such as large-scale construction projects, disasters, and visits by the emperor and empress. These few photographs captured the “old days” of the region. Photographic archives
are truly imprints of various aspects of the modern era. In 1911 (Meiji 44), Gonshiro Shiraishi published a photo album of Hofu
Town (the future Hofu City), Yamaguchi Prefecture, entitled “Kaho Shōkyō”. This paper introduces the changes in Hofu, Yamaguchi
Prefecture, from 1911 to the present day (2023) through rephotographing Hofu Tenmangu Shrine, Amida-ji Temple, Eiunso, etc., asrecorded in “Kaho Shōkyō”.

Key words:

Rephotography, Photographic History, Old Photograph, Photo Album, Hofu in Yamaguchi Prefecture

1. Introduction
Rephotography, also known as repeat photography, is a fascinating technique for capturing contemporary images of places thatwere photographed in the past. The purpose of rephotography is tocompare two images and observe changes over time.1) Rephotography continues to be used in science to record gradual or periodic
events (e.g., erosion, land rehabilitation, or glacier flow), measure theextent of sand banks in a river, and gather evidence of climatechange. Rephotography is also a useful diachronic visual method bywhich sociology and communication researchers can understand social changes.
Recently, old photographs have attracted considerable interest inJapan. Exhibitions of photographs from the Meiji and Taishō eras
were held, and nostalgic photo albums were published. Libraries areseeing increased demand for visual materials such as photographs. In
1987, Murakami published “Sanko Shoshi Kenkyu (Reference Service and Bibliography),” which summarized the Meiji- and Taishōera photo albums in the collection of the National Diet Library.2)
This paper was presented in two parts: a regional section and a matter section. Five photo albums from Yamaguchi Prefecture were introduced: “Kaho Shōkyō” (Figure 1),3) “Kanmon Nishikien”, “Gyōkō
Kinen Shashinchō”, “Chōmonkyō Shashinchō”, and “Bōchō Meiseki”. Among them, “Kaho Shōkyō” was reported in the overview report of the 2013 exhibition, “Discover! Industrial Adventure” by Isari et al.4) In addition, Hatori recently introduced a single photographfrom “Kaho Shōkyō” in “Saba no Sato”.5)“Kaho Shōkyō” was published in November 1911 (Meiji 44). It isa collection of photographs of Hofu Town (now Hofu City), Yamaguchi Prefecture, authored and published by Gonshiro Shiraishi.
Emperor Meiji visited Hofu to supervise army exercises in Kurume.
“Kaho Shōkyō” is a dedication album that compiles photographs of
Hofu’s historic sites, scenic spots, and modern structures (Figure 2).
Collotype printing was used. This method is well suited to photographs due to its high reproducibility, and the photographs are stillin good condition. The title, as shown in Figure 1, was drawn by
Nomura Motosuke. He was the director of a domain school (Meirinkan) in Yamaguchi Prefecture, a councilor of the senate, and amember of the House of Peers. He was also a well-known calligra-

Figure 1. The photo album “Kaho Shōkyō”.

Received and accepted 18th September, 2023; Published 10th October, 2023a) Department of Applied Chemistry, Sanyo-Onoda City University, Daigakudori, Sanyo-Onoda, Yamaguchi 756-0884, Japan.
b) The Society of Photography and Imaging of Japan.
c) Photographer.
Corresponding author. Tel: +81 836 88 4580
* shiraishi@rs.socu.ac.jp

Yukihide SHIRAISHI et.al.

Rephotography of the Photo Album “Kaho Shōkyō”

pher and served as secretary general of the Japan Calligraphy Association and president of the “Shodō Shōrei-kai”. He is said to be oneof the three most famous calligraphers in Chōshū (the future Yamaguchi Prefecture) along with Sugi Magoshichiro and Chō Sanshū.
The calligraphies shown in Figure 3 were done by Yamagata Aritomo, Inoue Kaoru, and Katsura Tarō. Yamagata Aritomo was born in
Hagi, Yamaguchi Prefecture, in 1838, studied at the Shōkasonjuku
Academy, and served as a military inspector of the “Kiheitai”. He
was a Japanese statesman and military commander who was
twice-elected prime minister of Japan. He was also a leading member of the “Genrō” (elder statesmen), an elite group of senior statesmen who dominated Japanese politics after the Meiji Restoration.
Inoue Kaoru was a politician born in Yamaguchi, Yamaguchi Prefecture, in 1836. He was sent to Europe by the Chōshū Domain andmainly studied at the University College London. He was known as
one of the “Chōshū Five”. He served as the minister of foreign affairs, minister of agriculture and commerce, minister of home affairs,
and minister of finance. Katsura Tarō was born in Hagi, Yamaguchi
Prefecture, in 1848. He was a general of the Imperial Japanese Armyand a Japanese politician who served as the prime minister of Japan
from 1901 to 1906, from 1908 to 1911, and from 1912 to 1913.
“Kaho Shōkyō” is an extremely valuable photo album as it contains
calligraphies by three of the nine “Genrō” from the Meiji era. In thisreview, we present rephotographs of the photographs in “Kaho
Shōkyō” and highlight the changes in Hofu, Yamaguchi Prefecture.

former village of Mitajiri, located in the center of Hofu, Yamaguchi
Prefecture. Mitajiri Village merged with Saba Village in 1902 to
become Hofu Town. In 1936, Hofu Town became Hofu City thatmerged with Nakanoseki Town, Hanagi Village, and Mure Village.
“Shōkyō” refers to places with excellent scenery. Therefore, “Kaho
Shōkyō”, published in 1911, is a view of Hofu Town. As shown in
Figure 4, this photo album contains 30 photographs. It uses a twopage spread with photographs on the left and explanations on theright. This section introduces the representative shrines, temples,and so on in Hofu.
Hofu is a historic area that has flourished as the capital of the Suōregion (the future Eastern Yamaguchi Prefecture) since ancient
times. During the Asuka era, the Suō and Nagato regions were established in Yamaguchi Prefecture under the Ritsuryo state system.
At this time, the national government of the Suō region was established in what is now Kokuga, Hofu City, which prospered for many
years as the center of the Suō region. It was designated as a Nation-

2. Changing Landscapes in “Kaho Shōkyō”“Kaho”, the setting of the photo album “Kaho Shōkyō”, was the

Figure 2. Acknowledgements by Gonshiro Shiraishi.

11

Figure 4. Contents of the photo album “Kaho Shōkyō”.

Figure 3. Calligraphy by Yamagata Aritomo (left), Inoue Kaoru (center), and Katsura Tarō (right).

12Bull. Soc. Photogr. Imag. Japan. Vol. 33 No. 2 (2023)

al Historic Site in 1937 as the “Remains of Suō Kokuga”, the earliestof all the provincial governor’s offices in Japan. The inscription on
the monument shown in Figure 5 reads as follows: “This is the only
place in Japan where the provincial governor’s office still exists. We
erected this monument to pass it on to future generations.” This
gives us a sense of the long history. In Figure 5, the left photograph
was taken in 1911 and the right photograph was taken in 2023. The
two photographs appear to be almost identical except for the slightly different stone pedestal areas and tree planting.
As shown in Figure 6, the Hofu Tenmangu Shrine is dedicated to
Sugawara no Michizane, who is revered as the god of learning.
Sugawara no Michizane was stopped by Katsuma-no-ura in Hofu
on his way to Dazaifu in 901 and died in Dazaifu in 903. The Hofu
Tenmangu Shrine was built in 904, the year after his death, and issaid to be the first Tenmangu Shrine built in Japan. It was once
called the Matsuzaki Tenmangu Shrine or Miyaichi Tenmangu
Shrine. In 1953, the name was changed to the Hofu Tenmangu

Shrine, which remains to this day. The Hofu Tenmangu Shrine including the main shrine was destroyed by fire three times in the past.
The present one was rebuilt in 1963 after it burned down in 1952.
The reconstructed main shrine and hall of worship were made ofwhite wood with Irimoya-zukuri (a hip-and-gable roof construction
style) and copper-roofing. In 2009, the Hofu Tenmangu Shrine became the first shrine building in Yamaguchi Prefecture to be registered as a Tangible Cultural Property of Japan. In Figure 6, the left
photograph was taken in 1911 and the right photograph was taken
in 2023. The shape of the building before and after reconstruction isdifferent, but its face retains its original appearance.
Figure 7 shows the Amida-ji Temple as the annex of the Tōdai-ji
Temple. The Amida-ji Temple was built in 1187 by Chōgen, who
served as the chief priest for the reconstruction of the Tōdai-ji Temple in Nara after it was destroyed by a fire in 1180. Amida-ji Temple
holds the Cast Iron Treasure Pagoda as the National Treasure, “Niōmon, Kongō Rikishi” as the Important Cultural Property and so on.

Figure 5. Remains of Suō Kokuga (the left and right photographs were taken in 1911 and in 2023, respectively).

Figure 6. Hofu Tenmangu Shrine (the left and right photographs were taken in 1911 and in 2023, respectively).

Figure 7. Amida-ji Temple (the left and right photographs were taken in 1911 and in 2023, respectively).

Yukihide SHIRAISHI et.al.

Rephotography of the Photo Album “Kaho Shōkyō”

This temple is also famous as the “Hydrangea Temple”, having approximately 4,000 hydrangea plants of 80 varieties on the temple
grounds. Except for the newly added lanterns, the photograph from2023 (Figure 7, right) looks very similar to the one from 1911 (Figure 7, left).
Figure 8 shows the Tamanoya-jinja Shrine. The Tamanoya-jinja
Shrine is the Ichi-no-Miya (highest-ranked shrine) in the Suō region. Its precise year of establishment is unknown, but it is said that
Emperor Keiko stopped at this place on his way to southern Kyushu
to conquer the Kumaso (ancient residents in southern Kyushu who
disobeyed the emperor), thus the Tamanoya-jinja Shrine has a longand distinguished history of 2000 years. Kurokashiwa chickens, aNational Natural Monument, are raised in the precincts of theshrine as the birthplace of this chicken species. In 1977, the roofs of
the main shrine and hall of worship were completely replaced; therefore, a comparison of the 1911 photograph (Figure 8, left) and the2023 photograph (Figure 8, right) shows a different roof shape.
Figure 9 shows the Eiunso, also known as the Mitajiri Ochaya(Mitajiri Teahouse). This building was established in 1654 by Mohri
Tsunahiro, the second lord of the Chōshū Domain, and was used forrest during visits to the official attendance service (by a daimyo in
the Edo era) or when patrolling the territory. The 7th lord of the
Chōshū Domain, Mohri Shigenari, lived there after his retirement,
so it was named Eiunso after Shigenari's Buddhist name. It became
a historical location where patriots came and went at the end of theEdo era. In 1989, it was designated a National Historic Site. Restoration and conservation work began in 1996. Each building was restored to its original appearance and then opened to the public in
2011.5) The left photograph in Figure 9 was taken for the “Kaho
Shōkyō” in 1911, and the center photograph in Figure 9 was repho-

13

tographed by Gonshiro Shiraishi for the “Gyōkei Kinen Shashinchō”6) in 1922. As of 2023, copies of both photographs were displayed at Eiunso. By comparing the earlier photographs with thattaken in 2023 (Figure 9, right), the restoration of the building to its
original appearance can be seen.
The buildings shown in Figures 5–9 have been designated as National Historic Sites or Important Cultural Properties. Culturalproperties make people aware of the history and culture of an area,
create an attractive area, and revitalize the community. Based on the
Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties enacted in 1950, thedesignation and protection measures for cultural properties became
systematic. A comparison of the rephotographs confirms that therestored buildings are almost exactly the same as they were in thepast even 100 years later. Owners, preservation organizations, local
residents, and others have made successful efforts to protect the cultural properties.

3. Changed Landscapes in “Kaho Shōkyō”
In the previous section, we showed the changing landscapes in“Kaho Shōkyō”, while in this section, we introduce the landscapesthat have significantly changed. Figure 10 (left) is a wide-angle
photograph of the main setting for this photo album, entitled “Mt.
Kuwanoyama yori Miyaichi wo Nozomu” (“Looking toward theView of Hofu from Mt. Kuwanoyama”). This photograph was takenin the north-northeast direction from Mt. Kuwanoyama, roughly
located in the center of the Hofu Plain. The center of the photograph shows the Hagi Ōkan Highway, stretching straight southfrom the Hofu Tenmangu Shrine. The Hagi Ōkan Highway wasconstructed in 1607 after the Hagi Castle was built to connect Mi-

Figure 8. Tamanoya-jinja Shrine (the left and right photographs were taken in 1911 and in 2023, respectively).

Figure 9. Eiunso (Mitajiri Ochaya) (the left, center, and right photographs were taken in 1911, 1922, and 2023, respectively).

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Bull. Soc. Photogr. Imag. Japan. Vol. 33 No. 2 (2023)

tajiri and the castle foot in the shortest distance as a Sankin-kōtai
road; a 52.7 km-long highway between San’yō and San’in. The present-day Kurumazuka-cho, where the Hofu Town Hall and the police station were situated, was located at the intersection of the HagiŌkan Highway and Sanyo Railways. In Figure 10 (left), the Hofu
Tenmangu Shrine can be seen at the foot of the mountain on theleft. Miyaichi, a post town on the old Sanyo Road, is located aroundthe Hofu Tenmangu Shrine. This place was the largest post town in
the Suō and Nagato regions, other than Akamagaseki (the future
Shimonoseki City, Yamaguchi Prefecture). The Suō Kokubunji
Temple is located to the right of the Hofu Tenmangu Shrine, and its
large Kondō Hall can be seen in Figure 10 (left). Most of the plains
were farmlands with rice paddy fields. Figure 10 (right) was taken in
2023. Many buildings were erected in what used to be rice paddies,and the town significantly developed. Another difference between
the two photographs is the mountainous landscape. The shape of themountain has not changed; however, in the 1911 photograph (Figure 10, left), the surface of the mountain has a white cast. The whit-

ish areas are granite, a geological feature of the Hofu mountains.
Yoshise stated that the salt industry was one of the reasons for thedevastation of the mountains.7) In fact, as described below, Hofu
developed as a salt pan from the Edo era.
Mitajiri Station is located at the left end of the photograph in
Figure 10 (left). Figure 11 (left) shows a photograph of the surroundings of Mitajiri Station. In 1898, the Sanyo Railway extended
from the Tokuyama Station to the Mitajiri Station, which opened at
its terminus. In 1906, the station became a government railroad station when the Sanyo Railway was nationalized. The Mitajiri Station
was renamed Hofu Station in 1962 and was rebuilt with a concrete
station building in 1963. In 1994, it was rebuilt as an overpass structure. Figure 11 (right) shows a photograph of Hofu Station in 2012
during which time the average number of daily passengers was
4,073.
Figure 12 (left) shows a pontoon bridge over the Saba River. From
the Middle Ages to the early Edo era, the Saba River was crossed byboat. From the late 15th century, wooden bridges were built, but

Figure 10. The view of Hofu from Kuwanoyama (the left and right photographs were taken in 1911 and in 2023, respectively).

Figure 11. The Mitajiri Station (taken in 1911) and the Hofu Station (taken in 2012).

Figure 12. The pontoon bridge (the left, center and right photographs were taken in 1911, 1922, and 2023, respectively).

Yukihide SHIRAISHI et.al.

Rephotography of the Photo Album “Kaho Shōkyō”

they were frequently destroyed by flooding. A pontoon bridge wasbuilt between Migita and Miyaichi on the Saba River in 1742 byorder of the aforementioned Mohri Shigenari. At that time, it wascalled “the strange bridge on the Saba River” because of its unusual
shape. In 1918, a typhoon passed through Kagoshima and Ōita Prefectures and hit Yamaguchi Prefecture.8) The typhoon caused the
Saba River to rise by 4 m, destroying 40 bridges. However, it wasreported that the pontoon bridge could be dismantled and quickly
moved when the water level rose.9) In fact, the pontoon bridge canbe seen in the rephotograph (Figure 12, center) by Gonshiro Shiraishi from the “Gyōkei Kinen Shashinchō”6) published in 1922. Interestingly, a new steel truss bridge (Shinbashi Bridge), which was constructed in 1921, can be seen in the small image on the far left of
Figure 12 (center). The chronology of the Hofu City History statesthat the pontoon bridge was abolished in 1941. Thus, this bridge
survived for approximately 200 years. Later, a wooden bridge wasbuilt, and it was later replaced by a concrete bridge in 1954. The
present bridge (Motobashi Bridge) was replaced in 1988. Currently,
the photographs in Figure 12 (left and center) are used on a sign
explaining the history of the bridge at the side of the bridge (Figure
12, right). The photographs in this section are related to the infrastructure which has dramatically changed over time.

4. Vanished Landscapes in “Kaho Shōkyō”
Over the past 100 years, some landscapes have disappeared. In
this section, we discuss photographs of vanished landscapes in“Kaho Shōkyō”. Figure 13 shows a photograph of the Mitajiri Salt
Pan. Hofu is located on the coast of the Seto Inland Sea, where thewaves are calm. Before modern times, salt was produced using two
old-fashioned methods: i.e., the Agehama and Irihama salt pans.
Mohri Shigenari conducted land reclamation along the coast of the
Seto Inland Sea, and an Irihama-style salt pan was created in 1699.
The Kohama, Nakahama, Tsuruhama, Ōhama, Edomarihama, andNishiurahama were known as “Mitajiri-Rokkasho Hama”. During
this period, there were 201 salt dealers and the salt pans occupied
half of the area in both the Suō and Nagato regions. The salt manufacturing industry flourished to the extent that salt became known
as Akō in Eastern Japan and Mitajiri in Western Japan. The salt
from Mitajiri was mainly shipped out on “Kitamae-bune” to the
San'in, Hokuriku and Tōhoku regions. It is said that salt was called“Mitajiri” in the Tōhoku region. In 1800, the sale of salt began in
Hokkaido. With the enforcement of the Salt Monopoly Law in1905, the Mitajiri Salt Office was established in the southeasternpart of Tsuruhama, and the Mitajiri Experiment Station of the Monopoly Bureau was established in Nakahama in 1909. In 1918, theMitajiri Monopoly Branch Office Directly Controlled Plant wasestablished on Mukōshima Island, which became a major center forthe salt industry. However, after 1945, imports of foreign salt andadvances in the “flow-through salt manufacturing method” led tothe disappearance of the salt pans in Hofu in 1959. The curtain fellon the brilliant history of Mitajiri, which had supported Japan’s salt
industry for 260 years since the Edo era. Today, the Mitajiri Salt Pan
Memorial Park is located on the site of the former salt pan.10)

15

Figure 14 shows a photograph of the Yamaguchi Prefecture Silkworm Seed Factory. Yamaguchi Prefecture established a prefectural
mulberry farm in 1906 followed by the Yamaguchi Prefecture Silkworm Seed Factory in 1908. The main operations of this factorywere the production of silkworm seeds, distribution of excellent
mulberry seedlings, and holding of sericultural technology workshops. In 1922, it was renamed the Prefectural Sericultural Experiment Station. The sericulture industry developed as a key industry
that supported Japan’s economy from the Meiji era, and the foreign
currency obtained from exports supported Japan’s development. In
the early Showa era, 2.2 million households, or about 40% of all
farm households in Japan, were engaged in sericulture, and mulberry
was cultivated on 620,000 hectares, or about 10% of all arable land.
Raw silk and silk fabrics accounted for 44% of the total exports, andsericulture was the largest export industry. However, raw silk production has declined since the 1950s due to the reduced demand forJapanese clothing and increased imports of raw silk and silk products. In 1944, the Yamaguchi Prefecture Silkworm Seed Factory
moved to Kuga Town, Yamaguchi Prefecture, leaving no vestiges ofthe factory behind. The manufacturing environment drasticallychanged from the 20th to 21st century. Photographs will play animportant role in conveying a record of these changes to future generations.

Figure 13. The Mitajiri Salt Pan (taken in 1911).

Figure 14. The Yamaguchi Prefecture Silkworm Seed Factory(taken in 1911).

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Bull. Soc. Photogr. Imag. Japan. Vol. 33 No. 2 (2023)

5. Conclusions
This review introduced Hofu, Yamaguchi Prefecture, from a rephotographic perspective, using some of the photographs in “Kaho
Shōkyō”. Finally, the life of Gonshiro Shiraishi, the photographer
who published this photo album, will be described based on the references.11-13) He was born in Yamaguchi Town, Yamaguchi Prefecture, in 1876. He started his career in photography at the invitationof his brother, Tokusaburo Shiraishi, and opened the Shiraishi Photo Studio in Miyaichi, Hofu Town, in 1896.14) In addition to “Kaho
Shōkyō”, he published photo albums, including “Yamaguchi Prefecture, Hofu-chō Anzaisho”, “Duke Mohri's Hofu Residence PhotoAlbum”, “Saba River Flood Photo Album”, and “Gyōkei Kinen
Shashinchō”, to document Hofu, Yamaguchi Prefecture. These photo albums also include several rephotographs, which are still cited inmany books.15-17) After the publication of “Gyōkei Kinen Shashinchō” in 1922, there was no confirmed publication of any more
photo albums. The photography business was taken over by his threesons (Kyoji, the eldest son, took over the Shiraishi Photo Studio;18)
Yukio, the second son, opened the Shiraishi Photo Shop (the future
Shiraishi Shōkai) in Ube City, Yamaguchi Prefecture; and Shuzo,
the third son, worked in the photography department of the Kawasaki Dockyard Company). On the other hand, Gonshiro Shiraishi
became a charter member of the Mitajiri High School for Girls (thefuture Seiei High School) in 1926 at the turning point of the Taishō
15 into the Showa era.19) He served on the board of directors of the
Mitajiri High School for Girls for 20 years. From 1947, he served as
the president of the school's administration for 13 years. For his
contribution to the development of the school, he was honored in
1954 as a person of merit for private schools in Yamaguchi Prefecture.20) In the book “An Outline of the Theory of Civilization” by
Fukuzawa Yukichi, there is the phrase, “One body, two lives”. It
means “living two lifetimes in one body”. Gonshiro Shiraishi was an
outstanding person who practiced “One body, two lives” as a photographer in the Meiji and Taishō eras and as an educator in the earlyShowa era.
Ryuichi Kaneko recently published a book titled “Japan Is a Landof Photo Albums”.21) He noted that, unlike in the West, photo albums remained the ideal form of photographic expression in Japan.
There are many fascinating photo albums hidden throughout Japan.
We hope that through rephotography, we can give them a new leaseof life and help to convey the changes in the region to future generations.

Acknowledgements

This study was partially supported by a grant from the Konica
Minolta Science and Technology Foundation of The Society of
Photography and Imaging of Japan to Y.S., and a Grant-in-Aid for
Scientific Research (C) (No. 23K04399 to Y.S.) from the Ministryof Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT),
Japan.

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