When the Meiji Emperor ascended to the throne in Japan in 1868, he ushered in a new period of enlightenment for the country. It opened its doors to the world and a tourism boom quickly followed. Photographic souvenirs were in high demand and, as these images from the archives of the Royal Geographical Society show, the local photographers produced a range of stylised images in response. Created in black and white, they were hand painted by  former woodblock artists before being sold as postcards or in albums to European visitors


September 2008