The BBC is a lighting on the story of Japan’s first professional photographer Ukai Gyoksen, who buried his glass negative, almost erased his legacy.
In 1883, Japanese photographer Ukai Gyoksen made several hundred burial of his glass plate negative in a Tokyo cemetery, an act believed that they would preserve them. Four years later, he was given a description of his life and career with two tombs, next to his photos. With this final gesture, the recognition disappeared for a lot of concrete evidence of his work and his contribution.
One in BBC documentaryPhoto Historian Naomi Ijakura, curator at JCII Camera Museum, and Torin Boy, filmmaker and photo journalist, Ukai’s career, their burials discuss the importance of negative and exciting new discoveries that have emerged during research in their lives.
“About 150 years ago, a man carefully digs a hole and keeps the pictures of several hundred glass plates inside. He burys them. And there are some 70 years later lies. Some survive, some live, most were a insect for that time. It was a kind of sadness, but in a strange way, it is a strange way,” BBC’s video.
From the sake seller to the first supporter photographer of Japan
The birth of a Samurai’s son, Ukai initially chased several paths as an artist and ancient collector. His encounter with American photographer Oin Freeman in Yokohama introduced him to the new art of photography. Ukai bought a camera and lesson from Freeman, returning to Eido (modern-day Tokyo) at the age of 54, the first professional photography studio of Japan, means “hall of True Image”, to establish asndo.
Working mainly for the Samurai class and the elite, Ukai’s work did not immediately find a broad market. According to his samadhi, photography was initially found with suspicion. However, until 1861, he was clearly active, making him the country’s first professional photographer. UKAI specifically employed embroidered technology, producing one type of images without additional dark prints, creating precious treasures for their subjects.
For eight years, Ukai captured Samurai, dignitaries and cultural clanges. In 1869, in the morning of the widespread popularity of photography in Japan, he suddenly closed his studio and left the profession, returning to his passion for ancient times.
“He alone honors the ancient,” a historian notes. “There is a certain irony that this pioneer of Japanese photography, who honored the antiques to the extent that he dug a new craze of photography, has now been a topic of chasing a long time to fix his burial images … Now the antiquities.”
History burial
Disappointed with the disappearance of his images and his inability to distribute him to his subjects, Ukai buried several hundred glass plates next to his grave in the Yanaka cemetery. Historians described the verdict as baffling, given the delicateness of photographic glass, yet it reflects the devotion of Ukai for old, ancient art forms on new techniques.
The BBC film states, “As the pictures fade and have deteriorated over time, it became disillusioned. I can’t just put a negative in the ground, just how it will destroy the image. It’s incredible,” the BBC film tells.
Ukai passed away after nearly four years, and his legacy was forgotten to a large extent.
Excavation and redistribution
In 1956, photography experts and descendants of Ukai arranged to excavate a serious conspiracy. About 100 glass plates survived, although most severely damaged, deteriorated, or consumed by insects. Efforts to negatively display or display negatively were limited, causing the work of Ukai to a great extent.
In 2009, very few additional materials were found in another attempt, as pre -excavation and soil condensation destroyed the remaining negative. Some living plates eventually entered private collections or were donated by enthusiasts to photography, which offers a glimpse in the 19th century Japan through the perspective of Ukai.
“Suddenly, we can see a very deep glimpse in the 19th -century Japan through Ukai’s eyes. In Japanese history, instead of a mere footnote, his compositions display a man before his time, rather than chasing one,” Historians shared.
A photographer before his time
Ukai’s compositions reveal a sophisticated, artistic eye, separating them from contemporaries. Many cytors have been painted to look away from the camera or to confuse with the frame in unconventional methods, the performance of the creativity rarely in the early Japanese photography.
The story of Ukai Gyokusen is a reminder that innovation and foresight do not always guarantee recognition, and that the protection of history can be delicate as glass plates that once occupied.
Image Credit: BBC
