Taiwan banchi shashincho 臺灣蕃地寫真帖 [Photo Album of Aboriginal Areas in Taiwan] [or] Views of Campaign Against the Aborigines in Formosa (stamped in gilt on upper cover)].
Three calligraphic plates, 4 photographic portrait plates, 2 color foldout maps, & 29 double-sided photographic plates, interleaved with thin paper containing printed captions in Japanese and English. Nine unpaginated leaves of text & one leaf of colophon. Oblong 4to (317 x 236 mm.), orig. cloth (some light dampstaining to covers & soiling). Taipei: Entō shashin kan [printed in Tokyo: Seibidō], 1912.
First edition of this important ethnological and photographic record of the indigenous peoples of Taiwan, produced during the early period of Japanese colonization of the island. The album contains over 100 photographs, many of which depict the armed conflicts between the colonial government and the indigenous groups from 1907 to 1912, as the former attempted to expand its control over the island’s natural resources. Other photographs depict the government’s efforts to “civilize” the Ami, Bunun, Toin, Tsou, Paiwan, and other peoples through educational programs, as well as the island’s natural and built environments. A very rare book: we locate only two copies in WorldCat, at the Huntington and the National Diet Library (in Japan).
Taiwan has been inhabited by Austronesian peoples for thousands of years, but Chinese immigrants gradually came to dominate the island’s western lowlands in recent centuries. The Qing empire ruled western Taiwan but treated its eastern part as beyond the pale. After Japan took over Taiwan in 1895, it attempted to rule the entire island and gain knowledge about the indigenous populations. Our album is notable for its direct portrayal of colonial violence and its accompanying ideology of assimilation. Photographs depicting Japanese artillery, military personnel and outposts are printed alongside photographs showing the destruction they inflicted upon indigenous populations and their settlements. These depictions are followed by portraits of “civilized savages” wearing Japanese attire; photographs of the customs, crafts, and attires of various indigenous groups; as well as photographs of indigenous children undergoing Japanese education and apprenticeships.
The volume opens with a Preface by Shimotaira Takuji 下平卓爾, of Taiwan Daily News, dated Taishō 1 (1912), followed by a Preface of the editor [Endō Kanya?], dated to the same year. These are followed by a short essay on the “governance of aboriginals” (riban gaiyō 理蕃概要) by Okano Saitarō 岡野才太郎, from the Department of Police in the Government-General of Taiwan, outlining the history of colonization in Taiwan under Spanish, Koxinga, and Qing rule, as well as the present-day political organization, economy, and cultural practices of various indigenous groups on the island. Two color maps show the distribution of various indigenous groups on the island. The colophon at the end of the volume states that the work was printed on 25 November 1912 at the Seibidō in Tokyo and published five days later at the Endō Photo Gallery in Taipei.
Very good copy, somewhat foxed. The last two leaves are worn on the edges. There are occasional handwritten corrections to the Japanese and English captions. Red collector’s seal on front flyleaf reads 讀真[?]書齋長物.
Price: $2,950.00
Item ID: 11428
