Japan - Postcard - 1934-1915

Rare thematic ensemble of 14 antique postcards (circa 1915–1934)

Traditional cormorant fishing (Ukai) on the Nagara River, Gifu Prefecture – Stunning vintage editions in colour halftone and monochrome

This exceptional and very complete lot is entirely dedicated to Ukai, the ancient art of nocturnal cormorant fishing on the Nagara River in Gifu, a millennial tradition jealously guarded by the Imperial Household of Japan.

The set brings together 14 period pieces of high ethnographic value, divided into two distinct and complementary sub-series, all printed using the period halftone (simili-gravure) process.

All the cards have remained unwritten and unstamped, preserved in pristine condition with remarkable freshness for papers nearly a century old.

FIRST BLOCK: International Edition in Colour Similigravure (7 cards)

Precise dating: Circa 1915–1922 (End of the Meiji era / Mid Taishō era)
This prestige bilingual series is characterized by its intense colours applied by halftone, English captions (Ayu-fishing by Cormorants) and official blue-ink versos bearing the obligatory Western inscription “Carte Postale / Union Postale Universelle” as well as the Japanese regulatory formula Yūbin Hagaki written in old characters to read from right to left (きがは郵便). The paper shows a uniform, characteristic vintage yellowness.

• Card 1 (Colour): Large animated nighttime fishing scene (Yakan Kei) showing the master fisherman in action on his boat, surrounded by his cormorants, beside a pleasure boat hosting spectators.

• Card 2 (Colour): Day view showing the line-up of flat wooden fishing boats sailing at the foot of the Gifu mountains, near a large passenger boat with a thatched roof.

• Card 3 (Colour): Daytime boarding scene. A fisherman standing in a skiff maneuvers the craft while wicker bird-cages are loaded aboard.

• Card 4 (Colour): Close-up of two sacred cormorants standing proudly, wings spread, perched on their traditional bamboo transport baskets.

• Card 5 (Colour): Technical scene showing fishermen in traditional attire (minomushi straw skirt and dark jacket) sorting and storing the cormorants in their baskets aboard the boat.

• Card 6 (Colour): Panoramic view of the moving fishing fleet on the Nagara River, passing the historic large metal bridge of Gifu.

• Card 7 (Colour): The cormorants resting on a pebble shore. The birds dry their wings in the sun under the watch of the fishing masters wearing conical hats.

SECOND BLOCK: Local Edition in Monochrome & Sepia Similigravure (7 cards)
Precise dating: Circa 1928–1934 (Very early Showa era)

This documentary series presents highly contrasted black-and-white and sepia screened impressions on a whiter, denser modern stock. It is distinguished by a refined front-frame design including detailed cultural explanations in Japanese. The versos feature the vertical divider line, and the obligatory Yūbin Hagaki wording and a fluid cursive calligraphy typical of the 1930s.

• Card 8 (Sepia): Broad view of the line-up of traditional inns and tea houses along the stone wharfs of the Nagara River, with a large oar boat stopped in the foreground. Caption: View of the Gifu shore.

• Card 9 (Sepia): High-contrast night shot showing the dramatic attack line formed by the lights of several boats moving in concert on the water to trap fish. Caption: Night flotilla on the Nagara River.

• Card 10 (Sepia): Tourist composite card showing a view of the official Gifu Fisheries Cooperative building, a miniature view of the era’s wooden bridge, and a calligraphy-poem reproduction.

• Card 11 (Sepia): Interior of a teahouse or local inn (Ryokan) overlooking the river, depicting tatami mats and sliding screens opened to the landscape. Caption: View of the bridge from the inn.

• Card 12 (Monochrome): Stunning live study showing the master fisherman at night, leaning over the water, firmly holding the lines of his twelve cormorants at the moment of capture. Caption: Hoping for a miraculous catch.

• Card 13 (Monochrome): Three sacred cormorants standing on the gunwale of a wooden boat, drying their feathers in the wind beneath a mast. Caption: The birds of the Nagara River.

• Card 14 (Monochrome): Spectacular night scene taken at water level, with two blazing braziers suspended at the prows, while a spectator in traditional kimono and period hairstyle watches the action from the secure upper deck. Caption: The clarity of night fires.

A first-rate ethnographic archive collection, ideal for collectors passionate about Japanese traditions, Asian travel postcard collecting, and the regional history of Gifu Prefecture.