Japanese music and theater also are represented, in the form of shamisen musicians.

But the citizens of turn-of-the-20th-century Japan couldn’t spend all their time engaging in elegant cultural endeavors. Just like people today, they had to earn a living, and with the country’s centuries of civil war finally at an end, commerce began to flourish, with fabric merchants…

…sandal sellers…

...and produce markets.

Of course, some of Japan’s premiere attractions are so big you can appreciate them from far away, as noted by this boatman plying the waters with the country’s most famous mountain in the background.

So the next time you post a picture online of a photo you took of Mount Fuji, and some know-it-all whines about it being clichéd, just tell him you’re following in the footsteps of Kusakabe Kimbei.

For even more historical photos, be sure to click the link below!