This page is part of the PhotoGuide Japan Web site. He sold his slides and photos to foreign tourists visiting Japan. Since the early days of photography, tourism has been a major contributor to the commercial success of photography.
People like to preserve memories in some physical form and to tell others about their experiences.
Photographs have been serving these ends very well. From the late 19th century to the early 20th century, foreign tourists streamed into Japan and bought tourist photographs from local photographers. The photos showed the usual famous sights, the Japanese natives, and Japanese customs. The Birth of Tourist Photography Japan finally ended its 250-year isolation in 1858 when commercial treaties with the U.S. and other countries were concluded. Westerners were then allowed to reside in treaty ports such as Yokohama, Kobe, and Hakodate.