An extraordinary collection of eighty pictures from the Alinari Archives located in Florence, Italy makes up a never-before-published sequence of images including portraits, landscapes, & rituals providing a rare entry into traditional 19th-century Japan. Felice Beato was one of the first Western photographers to enter Japan when the country first opened its borders (1853); he revealed to the Western world a country preserved in time & never seen before. In 1863 he moved to Yokohama & opened a photography school, the School of Yokohama. The photos of the book preserve the original photographic prints, manually coloured black-&-white prints, that truly embody the spirit of that period. Images feature fascinating portraits of women in kimonos, geishas, samurai warriors, & interiors of Japanese homes & gardens as well as scenes of everyday life including tea ceremonies or the theater. Each photo is accompanied by text providing historical, anthropological, & artistic context. This is a charming volume which comes with a Japanese-inspired design, with decorative patterns & colours recalling Japanese paper tradition & kimono fashion.