The Ghost Photographer of Yokohama

Minister Okubo Toshimichi

Kenjiro Tanaka

Hoshiko Tanaka

Eiko Sato

Minister Okubo's Garden

A traditional garden behind a Western-style mansion in Tokyo, where carefully raked gravel surrounds ancient stone lanterns and a single maple tree. The garden overlooks a koi pond where reflections shimmer like the ghostly images in Kenjiro's photographs.

Yokohama Foreign Settlement

Gas lamps flicker along paved streets lined with Western-style buildings, their shadows stretching across horse-drawn carriages and foreign merchants in frock coats. The harbor glitters with steamships from distant ports, and mixed-race couples walk arm in arm beneath signs written in both Japanese and English.

Tanaka Photography Studio

A small wooden studio in Yokohama's foreign settlement, its windows permanently shuttered against the sun. The darkroom smells of silver nitrate and vinegar, glass plates line the walls like captured moments, and a single red safety lamp casts long shadows across workbenches cluttered with bottles and trays.