Kazumasa Ogawa, born on September 29, 1860, was a Japanese photographer, printer, and publisher who was a pioneer in photomechanical printing and photography during the Meiji era. He started studying English and photography at the age of 15 and later moved to Boston where he took courses in portrait photography and the dry plate process. Upon his return to Japan in 1884, Ogawa opened a photographic studio in Tokyo, the first of its kind. He established the Tsukiji dry plate manufacturing company, which manufactured dry plates for use by photographers. In 1889, he set up Japan’s first collotype business, also referred to as the K. Ogawa printing factory. He worked as an editor for the only photographic journal available at the time, as well as for Kokka magazine. He printed both magazines using the collotype printing process.
Ogawa’s cultural impact is significant. He transformed the market from souvenir albums to publications illustrated with hand-colored collotypes, introducing Japanese art and culture to a broader international audience. He was a founding member of the Japan Photographic Society, which gathered photography amateurs from all around Japan. His work in photomechanical printing and photography during the Meiji era is recognized by Japanese art historians and curators as foundational. His publications introduced Japanese art and culture to a broader international audience, and he became the Meiji era’s leading exponent of photography as art.
