Rephotography of the Photo Album “Kaho Shōkyō”

Abstract

Rephotography is the process of repeatedly photographing the same location with a time lag between the photographs. During the Meiji era, when photographs were rare, they were left as a record of extraordinary events such as large-scale construction projects, di- sasters, and visits by the emperor and empress. These few photographs captured the “old days” of the region. Photographic archives are truly imprints of various aspects of the modern era. In 1911 (Meiji 44), Gonshiro Shiraishi published a photo album of Hofu Town (the future Hofu City), Yamaguchi Prefecture, entitled “Kaho Shōkyō”. This paper introduces the changes in Hofu, Yamaguchi Prefecture, from 1911 to the present day (2023) through rephotographing Hofu Tenmangu Shrine, Amida-ji Temple, Eiunso, etc., as recorded in “Kaho Shōkyō”.