Custom House, Yokohama. Hand-colored albumen print

Yokohama, c. 1890s (after 1892).
Image 19.9x25.8 cm.; mount 24.9x31 cm.

Attributed to T. Enami (1859–1929) studio. Captioned "89 Custom House, Yokohama" in the negative. The caption, hand-lettered in reverse on the negative, shows the letter S reversed throughout, a characteristic slip of Japanese retouchers unfamiliar with the Latin alphabet.

The photograph depicts the second Yokohama Custom House, seen at the end of Nihon Ōdōri, the broad avenue leading down to the harbour. Built in 1885, it was a two-storey brick building with classical details and a tall central tower, a conspicuous landmark of the port. It stood until 1 September 1923, when it collapsed in the Great Kantō earthquake. The present Custom House, also called as "Queen's Tower", replaced it in 1934. In the foreground, pedestrians and a horse-drawn cart pass between the gas lamps and telegraph poles, a glimpse of the modern, Westernised Yokohama. 

The number and title match no. 89, "Customs House Yokohama", recorded under the Enami studio in Terry Bennett's Japanese Numbers List (Old Asia Photography). We have been unable to locate another example of this view, either in public collections or online.

Binding & condition

Mounted on card (probably a split album leaf). Colors bright. Good: minor rubbing, verso rough from splitting.