VINCENT VAN GOGH'S SECRET VISIT TO YOKOHAMA

VINCENT VAN GOGH'S SECRET VISIT TO YOKOHAMA
Originally uploaded by roberthuffstutter

VINCENT VAN GOGH ACCESS TO CAMERAS WERE LIMITED...but his friend, Abe Yamashita, managed to take the sets of photos he wanted for works if his time in the Orient became limited. There were those in the government in Paris who were concerned about Vincent's presence in Japan once they learned he was in Yokohama. There were arguments, however, about Vincent's exact location and they knew that by the time they located him and tried convincing him to return, he could be off in some picturesque little inn near the Inland Sea., Theo, however, was not too concerned; he knew that once his brother found the comfortable and serence place he liked, he wouldn't likely move for any reason.
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Credits for this photo are listed in other areas of this blog where this photo appears. It is from a collection at the New York Public Library

Lake Shikotu-ko Chitose-city introduction 千歳市紹介

Lake　Shikotu-ko　Chitose-city introduction 千歳市紹介
Originally uploaded by Chitose-Kim

Lake　Shikotu-ko　Chitose-city introduction 千歳市紹介
Chitose is located at a latitude of 42 degrees north, and borders Sapporo, the political, economic and cultural center of Hokkaido. The city is also situated in south-central Hokkaido and at the southern end of the Ishikari Plain. At New Chitose Airport (one of Japan’s major hubs), 33 domestic routes, 11 international routes to six countries and 21 international charter routes to 13 countries are in service (as of 2007). Additionally, Tomakomai Port, which hosts international container routes, is located approximately 26 km from the city center (30 minutes by car). The city is constantly developing as a domestic and international physical distribution base as well as an important transportation hub.
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MY COMMENTS ABOUT THIS EXCELLENT PHOTOGRAPH

My first impression upon viewing this marvelous photograph concerned the elements of our lifetime. It would be up to us to add the fire, but one can sense the photographers energy as it associates with lively sky, the waves lapping at the shoreline, the boulders and the rocks still in the process of becoming sand. Yes, it was energy and beauty combined that became visual in an abstract manner.

To be less philosophical, let me say simply that I think it is one of the best scenes I have viewed.

CONGRATULATIONS TO CHITOSE-KIM FOR THIS BEAUTIFUL PHOTOGRAPH.
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Uploaded by Chitose-Kim on 14 Dec 10, 1.36AM PST.

VAN GOGH'S SECRET VISIT TO JAPAN: COLLAGE #1 by R.L.Huffstutter

VAN GOGH'S SECRET VISIT TO JAPAN: COLLAGE #1 by R.L.Huffstutter
Originally uploaded by roberthuffstutter

VAN GOGH'S SECRET VISIT TO JAPAN: COLLAGE #1 by R.L.Huffstutter
STUFF IN BOXES AND OLD REMINDERS OF ANOTHER TIME AND PLACE
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Do you suppose Vincent would have enjoyed the Bar Mickey or the Club Latin Quarter? I'll put my money on the Latin Quarter. Bar Sparta is not even in the picture. It is probable that Van Gogh would have enjoyed painting the shrines. I was fascinated by the shrines upon my arrival, but the perspectives and complexities were just too much for me. I had so many other events scheduled that taking time to do the shrines right would have consumed a considerable amount of time. Perhaps, on my return I will try some plein-aire shrine painting

THE OLD TRAMS OF YOKOHAMA 1960S by R.L.Huffstutter

THE OLD TRAMS OF YOKOHAMA 1960S by R.L.Huffstutter
Originally uploaded by roberthuffstutter

The street cars of Yokohama will forever remain in my mind; they were a fun way to get around. Because there was 360 yen to the dollar when I was in Japan, many of us used taxis more than street cars, but they were forever a presence in my mind. I recall one night, near the bund, when I consciously reminded myself that at some time in the far future I would recall the spark, the sound, the streetcars of Yokohama.

AN ESSAY ON SAKE AND LIFE

AN ESSAY ON SAKE AND LIFE
Originally uploaded by roberthuffstutter

FIRST CLASS FLIGHT TO TOKYO 1961

FIRST CLASS FLIGHT TO TOKYO 1961
Originally uploaded by roberthuffstutter

MY LOVE AFFAIR WITH JAPAN BEGAN LONG AGO
CHAPTER ONE
My love for Japan began long before I arrived at Tokyo International Airport in August 1961.

The flight from San Francisco in a Pan American 707 was joyful. After a brief stop in Hawaii, we were told that our next stop would be Japan. Kimono clad women employed by the Japan Tourist Bureau served us Kirin and Sapporo beer in-flight.

The captain announced we were flying over Midway Island and shortly afterwards, we were affored hot towels rolled and foled in a unique manner. Some of us sailors were curious about the towels and unrolled them, wiped our brows and disposed of them. The attendants laughed politely and demonstrated how the hot towel should be pressed to our brows and over our eyes, a resfreshing introduction to what we would remember later when we were able to enjoy the ofuro.

Of course, that did not happen aboard the plane; it was mentioned by some of the older servicement who had been to Japan. So we pressed the steaming towels to our brows, then over or eyes. It was a refreshing event and one that I still perform upon waking.

When the plane arrived, we were met by special buses that drove us to our new duty stations, Atsugi Naval Air Base.

Chapter Two will be posted if there is anyone interested in my tour of duty in a New Japan.
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FIRST CLASS FLIGHT TO TOKYO 1961
Uploaded by roberthuffstutter on 17 Aug 09, 7.39PM PST.

Street Car Sapporo 1963

Street Car Sapporo 1963
Originally uploaded by asachitose

Street Car Sapporo 1963

Uploaded by asachitose on 22 Aug 10, 6.46AM PST.
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If only I had taken a trip to Sapporo while I was in Japan, I would be equally as impressed, I am sure, with Hokkaido and its cities as I am with Honshu. Well, maybe next time. If I make it back, I will certainly spend time in Northern Japan. Thanks for exhibiting these rare and unique photos of another time.

MEMORIES OF CHINATOWN, YOKOHAMA 1961

MEMORIES OF CHINATOWN, YOKOHAMA 1961
Originally uploaded by roberthuffstutter

ONE OF MY FLICKR FRIENDS...who lives inNorthern Japan led me to a website with some great history of the YOKOHAMA TRAMS:

www.japaneserailwaysociety.com/jrs/members/na ito/hmtrm/hm...

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MEMORIES OF CHINATOWN, YOKOHAMA 1961
Pen, ink and watercolor by Robert L. Huffstutter, memories of my time in Yokohama in early 60s.

Uploaded by roberthuffstutter on 9 Sep 10, 7.38AM PST.

REMEMBERING THE YOKOHAMA TROLLY CARS

REMEMBERING THE YOKOHAMA TROLLY CARS
Originally uploaded by roberthuffstutter

REMEMBERING THE YOKOHAMA TROLLY CARS

Oh, Chinatown Night*

There was never a better ride, especially as it passed the old embassy area near the harbor. On Saturday nights, the old cars seemed to fly by the bund at 80 miles an hour to finish up the night.

If I recall, the trollies stopped running at midnight. This was the Yokohama of the 1960s.

But the night was only just beginning as the taxis poured into the narrow streets of Chinatown where the air was thick with sweet perfumes and powders. There was never a night in Chinatown where men were lonely or sad. The sound of both occidental and oriental music blended in the Yokohama night, each club with different decor and beautiful women in silk and denim, sometimes both.

The small soba shops between the clubs packed it in square cartons to go as the wee hours of the loving morning embraced the dawn. Footsteps and laughter drifted into the night, up one narrow alley after another narrow street, up stairs, and then the hush of another night, whispers not heard and maybe never remembered.

The trollies began rolling with the sunrise and by dawn, the neon faded and another night in Yokohama was history, memories shared by many for awhile, for some longer.

Robert L. Huffstutter

*There was a song most servicemen of all nations of that era remember quite well, "Oh, China Night."

LET'S GO TO CHINATOWN FOR A FEW DRINKS: 1960 YOKOHAMA

LET'S GO TO CHINATOWN FOR A FEW DRINKS: 1960 YOKOHAMA
Originally uploaded by roberthuffstutter

I HAVE ALMOST 2,000 OF THESE MATCH BOXES IF I CAN ONLY FIND THEM...
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LET'S GO TO CHINATOWN FOR A FEW DRINKS: 1960 YOKOHAMA
Thank you for including my matchbox map in your most unique gallery. If only I could use these maps to take me back to the joys of another era.

www.flickr.com/photos/frauhaus/galleries/72157625376486199

Uploaded by roberthuffstutter on 10 Aug 10, 4.06PM PST.

ONE OF MY BEST PHOTOS OF JAPAN: PETRI CAMERA, 1962

ONE OF MY BEST PHOTOS OF JAPAN: PETRI CAMERA, 1962
Originally uploaded by roberthuffstutter

ONE OF MY BEST PHOTOS OF JAPAN: PETRI CAMERA, 1962


SHORTLY AFTER ARRIVING IN JAPAN, I PURCHASED A PETRI at the Navy Exchange in Yokohama. It had the "new magic eye" or built-in light meter, a feature I thought would make a great difference in that I would not have to worry about Fstops and all the technical aspects. It was, in reality, a forerunner of the AUTOMATIC FEATURE. In other words, it was a point and shoot.

I shot many slides to begin with due to the high cost of color film. Hopefully, they are still in good shape, and I will be able to transfer them into photos and thus transfer them to my Flickr photostream. If there is a method for using a scanner to enlarge slides and get them into my system, I have not yet figured it out.

Through a contact in Flickr, I have been presented a Petri and am eagerly awaiting its arrival to see if it is still as fascinating as I recall. The best way to prove this, however, would be through board a JAL for Tokyo and then start shooting great photos. Maybe, sometime, I hope to return. It would be a second adventure of a lifetime.......Robert

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SAILING INTO FUJI

SAILING INTO FUJI
Originally uploaded by Okinawa Soba

SAILING INTO FUJI
Beautiful.

THIS IMAGE is one of several examples of a largely ignored facet of Old Japanese Photography -- a genre called "TAISHO ART" or "TAISHO PICTORIAL PHOTOGRAPHY". The pictorialism movement in Japan reached its peak during the reign of EMPEROR TAISHO (1912-26), thus the name attached to the genre. See the extended comments at the set link for PICTORIALISM IN OLD JAPAN just to the right of this picture.

Uploaded by Okinawa Soba on 28 Mar 08, 12.48PM PST.

STANDING IN AIR OVER MT. FUJI -- Japan's Sacred Mountain Subdued Under a Bridge

STANDING IN AIR OVER MT. FUJI -- Japan's Sacred Mountain Subdued Under a Bridge
Originally uploaded by Okinawa Soba

Your photograph is very special. It is one of my favorites. The colors you captured are magnificent; your framing is artful. To summarize, your photograph is a masterpiece, a work of art.

MT FUJI CANNOT BE DEFINED BY WORDS. This is my opinion and the opinion of writers throughout the world. Nevertheless, writers continue to describe its beauty in poetry, in long and elegant streams of prose and in brief but powerful text in geography books. When all is written and read, the sight of this sacred symbol in Japan, the sight of this most famous mountain throughout the world leaves the viewer almost breathless and bewildered; its beauty is beyond description in graphic text or letters; there is no poem powerful enough to create the emotion that sight of this mountain creates in one's heart and mind upon seeing Mt Fuji for the first time.

A MOST SERENE AND BEAUTIFUL PHOTOGRAPH...of my favorite mountain. Most people I talk with tell me it is impossible to see Mt Fuji from Yokohama. I tell them that in the early 1960s, I could see Mt Fuji almost any day from Atsugi, and quite frequently while in Yokohama, I could see the beautiful symbol of Japan.
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STANDING IN AIR OVER MT. FUJI -- Japan's Sacred Mountain Subdued Under a Bridge
What can be said here ? Odd and unusual. Arty in some kind of way, because of the non-standard arrangement of the objects in the view. Any photographer worth his salt in Old Japan would place Mt. Fuji OVER the bridge...and UNDER some overhanging branches of twisted pine, or branches of flowering Cherry Blossoms. But not this guy. He stuck the old volcano under a Bridge...with people in the sky, instead of Fuji's majestic peak. Good Show. It's nice to find old stuff like this...at the bottom of the box where nobody wanted it. However, I'm sure there are plenty of nuts on flickr (just like me) that will immediately like this shot. Ca.1900 albumen print.

Uploaded by Okinawa Soba on 1 Apr 08, 11.03PM PST.

A SLOW DAY ON BENTEN STREET, YOKOHAMA -- The #1 International Shopping District During the Late Meiji Era, and the "PHOTOGRAPHERS ROW" OF OLD JAPAN (With Some Notes on the BRINKLEY SETS)

A SLOW DAY ON BENTEN STREET, YOKOHAMA -- The #1 International Shopping District During the Late Meiji Era, and the "PHOTOGRAPHERS ROW" OF OLD JAPAN (With Some Notes on the BRINKLEY SETS)
Originally uploaded by Okinawa Soba

THIS IS WHERE VAN GOGH WOULD HAVE STAYED PART OF THE TIME IF HE HAD VISITED JAPAN...
My gratitude to the members who have opted to make their work available for exhibition in the Flickr gallery feature.

When I started my galleries, I didn't know how addictive this could become; I didn't realize how many great photographers and artists are members of Flickr and offer hours and hours of entertainment viewing masterpiece after brilliant masterpiece.

I now have more than 500 galleries and have enjoyed creating almost each one. Thanks to all of you. Robert