About This Image

Top of photo has curved corners.

The photographer may be Auguste Gordes, who published glass slides of this image. It is also possible that he copied the work of another photographer, such as Felice Beato, who also photographed the typhoon's effects with his assistant H. Woollett. Large albumen prints of this image, like this one, are quite rare and sought after. They were not usually included in tourist albums of the period.

In July 1871 a strong typhoon devastated western Japan. It was one of the first strong typhoons that foreigners in the newly opened foreign settlements experienced and it shocked them tremendously.

In Osaka and Hyogo prefectures alone some 700 people were killed. Even the sturdy brick buildings in Kobe’s new foreign settlement could barely withstand the storm’s fury.

Japan had opened for international trade only 12 years earlier, in 1859. Kobe’s foreign settlement had been open for just three years, and construction was still ongoing.

Japanese sailing vessels were washed ashore amidst the wrecks of countless other boats.

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