Double Exposure: Missionary Photographs of Meiji-Taisho Japan

John Cooper Robinson was an Anglican missionary who lived and worked in Japan in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. The Cooper Robinson collection consisting of over 4,600 photographic prints, negatives, glass lantern slides, and postcards is one of the most valuable photographic records of this era.

The exhibition, Double Exposure Japan-Canada: Missionary Photographs of Meiji-Taisho Japan, on display at Rare Books and Special Collections was curated by Professor Allen Hockley and Naoko Kato, Japanese Language Librarian. The exhibit highlights four major themes: Robinson and the Economies of Japanese Photography, Robinson and the M.S.C.C. Mission in Japan, Robinson and Japanese Religions, and Robinson’s Photographic Practices. This exhibit features original photographs as well as glass lantern slides and glass negatives that were used by Robinson.

In addition, the Asian Center at UBC features a selection from The Making of History and Artifacts (1888-1926): The Photographs of John Cooper Robinson from Meiji-Taisho Japan exhibit, curated by Robert Bean with an introduction by Bill Sewell.

Check out the John Cooper Robinson Collection Finding Aid to learn more about this extensive photo collection.

Double Exposure Japan-Canada is on display at UBC Library’s Rare Books and Special Collections on the first floor of the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre from March 13–May 31, 2017, and can be viewed Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturdays from 12-5 p.m. until April 8. The exhibition is free and open to the public. For more information, please contact Naoko Kato at naoko.kato@ubc.ca.