34 Candid Color Photographs of Queen’s First Visit to Japan in 1975

In the spring of 1975 Queen set foot as a band for the first time in Japan much to the delight of their legions of fans there. The band played their first of many gigs at Budokan after the release of 1974’s Sheer Heart Attack and the footage from the show is truly something to behold as are the images of the then 29-year-old Mercury sitting along with his bandmates and a few lovely geishas at a formal ceremony on the grass in front of the Tokyo Tower.

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Charming Color Photos of Kittens Taken by Nobuo Honda

Kittens are amongst the world’s most inquisitive creatures, frequently to be found hiding in the most unlikely places, scaling to unthinkable heights with ease and even rolling down staircases when no other, more acrobatic route presents itself.

These images show their curiosity, following a litter (and their irascible mother) around the author’s household. Nobuo Honda’s flawless photography captures the charm of these contemplative felines in beautiful full-color photographs.

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Japan in the Early 1950s Through Amazing Color Slides

After Japan surrendered in 1945, ending World War II, Allied forces led by the United States occupied the nation, bringing drastic changes. Japan was disarmed, its empire dissolved, its form of government changed to a democracy, and its economy and education system reorganized and rebuilt.

Years of reconstruction were required to recover from thousands of air raids, including the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. By the 1950s, a former enemy became a Western ally, parts of American culture became part of the Japanese landscape,. And Japan began to find its economic footing as a manufacturer consumer devices and electronics.

These amazing color slides were found by Bill Greene that captured everyday life of Japan in the late 1940s or early 1950s.

Healthy and bright Japanese girls in bathing suits

‘Koto’ or Japanese harp

Art of tea-making

Ashino-ko A lake

Flower arrangement

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Candid Photographs Captured Beach Goers Relaxing at Isshiki Beach, Japan, 1964

1964 is considered a seminal year in modern Japanese history. The Tokyo Olympics and first run of the bullet train reflected a society-wide sense that post-war reconstruction was over and that Japan had rejoined the international family of nations. Diplomatic negotiations underway this year between South Korea and Japan resulted in a formal normalization of relations the following year.

Individuals born beginning around this date were often subsequently identified as “shinjinrui” (or new people) because they had not experienced the suffering older generations had during World War II or the post-war period, and on the contrary, grew up in material plenty.

Below are some candid photographs captured beach goers at Isshiki Beach in Hayama, Kanagawa on May 31, 1964.

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40 Colorized Photos of Japanese Bathing Beauties in the Early 20th Century

This set from Okinawa Soba contains colorized photos of mostly geisha and maiko posing as bathing beauties during the Meiji and Taisho eras of old Japan.

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Fascinating Color Pics Document Everyday Life of Sendai, Japan in 1949-50

Founded in 1600 by the daimyō Date Masamune. Sendai is the capital city of Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, the largest city in the Tōhoku region, and the second largest city north of Tokyo. It is one of Japan's 20 designated cities.

The city was It is nicknamed the City of Trees; there are zelkova trees lining many of the main thoroughfares such as Jōzenji Street and Aoba Street.

In the summer, the Sendai Tanabata Festival, the largest Tanabata festival in Japan, is held. In winter, the trees are decorated with thousands of lights for the Pageant of Starlight, lasting through most of December.

These fascinating photos from NorbFaye documented everyday life of Sendai in late of 1949 and 1950.

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35 Fascinating Color Snaps Capture Everyday Life of Tokyo in the Early 1950s

Tokyo is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. It has served as the Japanese capital since 1869, its urban area housing the Emperor of Japan and the Japanese government.

Tokyo forms part of the Kantō region on the southeastern side of Japan's main island, Honshu, and includes the Izu Islands and Ogasawara Islands. It is often referred to as a city but is officially known and governed as a "metropolitan prefecture", which differs from and combines elements of a city and a prefecture, a characteristic unique to Tokyo.

Tokyo is considered to be one of the world's most important and powerful global cities. It ranks first in the Global Economic Power Index, third in the Global Cities Index, and was considered one of the most liveable cities in the world.

These fascinating color snapshots from jcator that captured street scenes of Tokyo in 1951.

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Rare Photos of The Beatles Painting “Images of a Woman,” the Only Known Painting by All Four Members in Tokyo, 1966

Images of a Woman, also known as The Tokyo Painting is one of those rare Beatles memorabilia pieces that not many people have heard about. It is an abstract collaboration painted and signed by John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.

Between June 30 and July 2, 1966, the Beatles were in Tokyo, Japan to play a series of concerts at the Budokan Hall. Because of fanatical Beatlemania from the Japanese fans as well as the fact that it was their first (and only) appearance in Japan, they were virtual prisoners in the Tokyo Hilton Hotel for the duration of their stay. Completely bored, someone, possibly Brian Epstein or their Japanesse promoter, Tats Nagashima, suggested that they quietly paint to pass the time with a canvas and paints. The resulting work of art would be the only one created and signed by all four Beatles (although they did also collaborate on a pen and ink drawing “greeting card” for the Monterey Pop Festival in June 1967, to which they were invited to perform but politely declined).

Working at a table with a lamp at the center of the canvas in order to hold it down and give them some light, each Beatle took a corner and painted what they wanted to in their own style. The resulting white circle at the center of the painting (a result of the lamp covering the canvas) was where they each signed next to their quadrant of art. The resulting piece, titled “Images of a Woman,” was given to Tetsusaburo Shimoyama, an entertainment industry executive and chairman of the Japanese Beatles fan club, before they left Tokyo. When he died, his wife sold it in 1989 to a Japanese collector who kept it displayed in his living room before storing it under a bed until 2012, when it was sold again for around $150,000.

The Beatles’ painting with their autographs.

Luckily for us Beatles fans, their friend the photographer Robert Whitaker was traveling with them on tour and managed to take many photographs of them working on the painting. In fact, he recalled that they were at the most relaxed and happy when working on it, and were always keen to get back to the hotel room to work on it after giving their concerts at the Budokan. “I never saw them calmer, more contented than at this time... They’d stop, go and do a concert, and then it was ‘Let’s go back to the picture!’”

Below are some of the photographs of the Beatles creating the painting:

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Life of the Post-WWII Japan Through Fascinating Color Pictures

The Allies occupied Japan at the end of World War II until 1952, during which a new constitution was enacted in 1947 that transformed Japan into a constitutional monarchy.

After 1955, Japan enjoyed very high economic growth, and became a world economic powerhouse.

These fascinating color pics from Tom Smith were taken by his father that documented everyday life of Japan from 1948 to 1950.

Japan, 1948

Countryside waterwheel, Japan, 1948

Farm man resting, Japan, 1948

Farm woman carrying fertilizer, Japan, 1948

Farm worker pulling onions, Japan, 1948

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Rare Photos of Hachiko, the World's Most Loyal Dog

Hachiko, a golden brown Akita, was born on November 10, 1923 at a farm located in Ōdate, Akita Prefecture, Japan. In 1924, Hidesaburō Ueno, a professor in the agriculture department at the Tokyo Imperial University, took Hachikō as a pet and brought him to live in Shibuya, Tokyo. Ueno would commute daily to work, and Hachikō would leave the house to greet him at the end of each day at the nearby Shibuya Station. The pair continued the daily routine until May 21, 1925, when Ueno did not return. The professor had suffered a cerebral hemorrhage, while he was giving a lecture, and died without ever returning to the train station in which Hachikō waited.

Each day, for the next nine years, nine months and fifteen days, Hachikō awaited Ueno’s return, appearing precisely when the train was due at the station.

Hachikō attracted the attention of other commuters. Many of the people who frequented the Shibuya train station had seen Hachikō and Professor Ueno together each day. Initial reactions from the people, especially from those working at the station, were not necessarily friendly. However, after the first appearance of the article about him in Asahi Shimbun on October 4, 1932, people started to bring Hachikō treats and food to nourish him during his wait.

One of Ueno’s students, Hirokichi Saito, who developed expertise on the Akita breed, saw the dog at the station and followed him to the home of Ueno’s former gardener, Kuzaboro Kobayashi, where he learned the history of Hachikō’s life. Shortly after the meeting, the former student published a documented census of Akitas in Japan. His research found only 30 purebred Akitas remaining, including Hachikō from Shibuya Station.

He returned frequently to visit Hachikō, and over the years he published several articles about the dog’s remarkable loyalty. In 1932, one of his articles, published in Asahi Shimbun, placed the dog in the national spotlight.

Hachikō became a national sensation. His faithfulness to his master’s memory impressed the people of Japan as a spirit of family loyalty to which all should strive to achieve. Teachers and parents used Hachikō’s vigil as an example for children to follow. A well-known Japanese artist rendered a sculpture of the dog, and throughout the country, a new awareness of the Akita breed grew.

Eventually, Hachikō’s legendary faithfulness became a national symbol of loyalty, particularly to the person and institution of Emperors.

Hachikō died on March 8, 1935 at the age of 11. He was found on a street in Shibuya. In March 2011, scientists finally settled the cause of death of Hachikō: the dog had both terminal cancer and a filaria infection. There were also four yakitori skewers in Hachikō’s stomach, but the skewers did not damage his stomach nor cause his death.

After his death, Hachikō’s remains were cremated and his ashes were buried in Aoyama Cemetery, Minato, Tokyo where they rest beside those of Hachikō’s beloved master, Professor Ueno. Hachikō’s fur, which was preserved after his death, was stuffed and mounted and is currently on permanent display at the National Science Museum of Japan in Ueno, Tokyo.

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