Dance party held to mark 150th anniversary of Yokohama Port

Dance party held to mark 150th anniversary of Yokohama Port

YOKOHAMA, Japan - Men and women wearing outfits in the style of late 19th century Japan, symbolizing the country's westernization during the Meiji era, dance at Hotel New Grand in Yokohama on Feb. 25 at a party to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Yokohama Port. The dances were reminiscent of those at the famous Rokumeikan Hall built in 1883, where Japanese and foreign dignitaries held evening and dance parties.

Rokumeikan or Deer Cry Hall, foreign guesthouse, Tokyo, Japa

Rokumeikan or Deer Cry Hall, foreign guesthouse, Tokyo, Japa

Rokumeikan or Deer Cry Hall, foreign guesthouse, Tokyo, Japan, circa 1880s. Date: circa 1880s

Dance party held to mark 150th anniversary of Yokohama Port

Dance party held to mark 150th anniversary of Yokohama Port

YOKOHAMA, Japan - Men and women wearing outfits in the style of late 19th century Japan, symbolizing the country's westernization during the Meiji era, dance at Hotel New Grand in Yokohama on Feb. 25 at a party to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Yokohama Port. The dances were reminiscent of those at the famous Rokumeikan Hall built in 1883, where Japanese and foreign dignitaries held evening and dance parties. (Kyodo)

First Imperial Hotel

First Imperial Hotel

The Tokyo Imperial Hotel opened in 1890. Built next to Rokumeikan by request of Minister of Foreign Affairs Inoue Kaoru, the hotel was a Neo-Renaissance-style building designed by Watanabe Yuzuru. There was a driveway and spaces for coaches and rickshaws. Upon entering the hotel, visitors walked into a spacious lobby with a reception desk and salon. There was a piano, billiard room, and even a ballroom. The first chairman was Shibusawa Eiichi.Probably taken between 1892 and 1897.==Date:unknown, Place:Tokyo, Photo:unknown, (Credit:Nagasaki University Library/Kyodo News Images) [Cabinet Number85‐10‐0]

The twelve-level Ryounkaku,Asakusa

The twelve-level Ryounkaku,Asakusa

While Rokumeikan, built around the same time, is a representative building of the nobility, Ryounkaku was a building for the common people. At a time when tall buildings were all but nonexistent in Tokyo, it was one of the few portrayed by photographers in vertical composition. This photograph provides a rare view of Ryounkaku reflected in Oike Pond. The top half of Ryounkaku was destroyed in the Great Earthquake of 1923 and the rest of the building was later demolished. This is Ryounkaku soon after its completion in October 1890.==Date:unknown, Place:Tokyo, Photo:unknown, (Credit:Nagasaki University Library/Kyodo News Images) [Cabinet Number55‐38‐2]

A woman in Western dress

A woman in Western dress

The Meiji government eagerly promoted a policy of Westernization to help Japan emerge from the fog of its long period of national isolation. This woman is dressed in what might be called Rokumeikan style, after the famous guest palace that symbolized Japan's adoption of Western culture.==Date:unknown, Place:unknown, Photo:unknown, (Credit:Nagasaki University Library/Kyodo News Images) [Cabinet Number55‐24‐3]