How Westerners first saw Japan: Colour postcards of idyllic life in 19th century show sleeping Geishas, women writing letters in their boudoirs and elegant ladies riding rickshaws

Japan, now a land of advanced technology, bullet trains and a relentless pace of life, was once a very different place. Fascinating photographs taken at the end of the 19th century show a much simpler nation, including women cultivating a flower garden …
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