Fascinating pictures - thanks for the link! I love Victorian photographs of exotic locales.
Some of the earliest ones I’ve seen are of the Crimean War, showing cavalry troops and battlefields with cannonballs everywhere. Which is more remarkable when you consider cameras were huge and mobile darkrooms had to be drawn by horses back then.
That was interesting. The picture of the Summer Palace across the water gave me deja vu, and when I looked at some photos I had taken on vacation in China I realized I had taken one from what must have been almost the same exact spot. With a little resizing, I could superimpose them.
The amazing thing to me is how many of those photos look like they could be taken today. Change the clothes on the people in them, and I think only one would look out of place.
That fort is not part of the outer defenses. It is a small hill built behind the outer wall so the cannoneers on top could have a direct line of sight on attackers. There is a contemporary drawing here where you can see the lower outer wall behind the hill with the ramp.
That is fascinating! I love old photos and can spend hours over on Shorpy. The peek into the past is thought provoking.
The look at the old fortifications I find fascinating - they were designed not so much as a home base for a large unit but as a small local defense facility. They also seem to not be designed for British style drill parades, there is a distinct lack of open space. I would love to see what type of vicus developed outside for the locals.
Yes, that statue is still there (but not in Yokohama, it is in Kamakura, an old military capital, across the peninsula - facing Sagami Bay, not Tokyo Bay).
The one labeled “Tycoon’s Palace in Yedo” is a little hard to figure out. I think it must have been some daimyo’s Edo residence; it certainly isn’t the Shogun’s Castle.
Truly fascinating. I’m going to show the old views of Yokohama to my partner, who grew up around there (although a few years later!) to see if he can recognize any landmarks.
Roddy