Licht over Deshima

Light over Deshima invites you to discover Japan's earliest photography. The exhibition shows how Dutch and Japanese doctors and researchers experimented with photographic techniques on Deshima in the mid-nineteenth century. Photography subsequently grew into an invaluable means of recording a society in transition. This fascinating history takes on an extra layer of significance in the former home of Philipp Franz von Siebold, who gave a lasting boost to the exchange of knowledge between Japan and the Netherlands.

The exhibition and the publication of the same name are the result of a special collaboration between Leiden University Libraries, Nagasaki University Library, Japan Museum SieboldHuis and various museums and photo collections in the Netherlands and Japan.