Mutsuhito, the Emperor of Japan as a young man, 1868-69 (hand coloured photo)

Emperor Meiji (明治天皇 Meiji-tennō, 1852-1912), or Meiji the Great (明治大帝 Meiji-taitei?), was the 122nd Emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, reigning from February 3, 1867 until his death on July 30, 1912. UCHIDA, Kuichi--Commercial photographer, Osaka/Yokohama/Tokyo. One of the major figures in early Japanese photography, like Shimooka he began in 1859. In 1872 Uchida photographed the Emperor Meiji and the Empress Haruko. In the 1868/69 period he may also have taken the Worswick Collection carte de visite of the Emperor Meiji; the earliest know picture of the Emperor to survive(?). Possible photographer of an extremely important album of 144 carte de visite detailing daimyo's, their retainers, "Enamoto, The Insurgent" (later Vice Admiral, Viscount, etc.), tradesmen and Japanese types. The album dates from the period 1862-1868 and I attribute it to a Japanese photographer either Shimooka or Uchida because it does not resemble the work of the European photographers working in Japan, either Beato or C. Parker (though there is one C. Parker carte in the album).