35 Colorized Studio Portrait Photos of Geisha in the Late 19th Century ~ Vintage Everyday

Often called “The Millionaire Photographer,” Kajima Seibei (1866–1924) was serious about his art and made a significant contribution to furthering and improving Japanese Photography. Along with his more famous friends Ogawa Kazumasa and William K. Burton, he founded the Tsukiji Dry-Plate Company, was an editor of “Shashin Sowa” and “Shashin Shinpo” photo magazines, was a pioneer of collotype printing, financed and provided images for “Kabuki Shinpo” magazine, and, with his brother Seizaburo, ran a large studio and publishing company called Genrokukan (1895-1897).

At some point, Seibei was forced to leave the family business (the Kajimaya Sake Distribution Company) and made to divorce his first wife, due to his lavish spending habits for photography. He married his model and lover, Geisha Ponta, with whom he had 12 children, and lived in Kyoto for a time, where he operated another incarnation of Genrokukan and later became a Noh musician.

These vintage photos were taken by Kajima Seibei that show portraits of geisha at Genrokukan Studio in Tokyo around 1895-97.