Najaarsbijeenkomst 24 september 2026
The Netherlands Photographic Society (Nederlands Fotogenootschap, NFg), in collaboration with Leiden University Libraries and Japan Museum SieboldHuis, invites you to:
Light over Dejima
symposium, book launch and opening exhibition
Thursday 24 September | 11.00 – 15.30 and 16.00 – 18.00
Leiden University Library and SieboldHuis
Portraits, encounters, domestic scenes, street views and landscapes. The earliest photographs of Japan not only document the development of a new technique, but also provide a rare visual record of a society in transition. How did photography reach Japan in the nineteenth century?
On Thursday 24 September, the introduction of photography to Japan between 1840 and 1870, and the role played by the Dutch, will take centre stage. A symposium and the presentation of the book Light over Dejima will take place at Leiden University Libraries. This will be followed by the opening of the photography exhibition Light over Dejima at Japan Museum SieboldHuis.
Separate registration is required for each of the two events.
This day also coincides with the autumn members’ day of the Nfg.
Symposium and Book Launch – Leiden University Libraries
Kartini Auditorium
University Library
Witte Singel 27
2311 BG Leiden
During the international symposium, curators and specialists from Leiden University Libraries, the University of Tokyo and various museums will give presentations on early Japanese photography in their collections. This will be followed by the presentation of the first copy of the book Light over Dejima. The symposium and book presentation will be held in English.
In Light over Dejima — written in Japanese, English and Dutch — early photography in Japan from the collections of Leiden University Libraries, the University of Nagasaki and several other collections is explored. The book focuses on the introduction of photography to Japan, with particular attention to the role of cooperation between Japanese and Dutch people, initially on Dejima, during the period 1855–1870. Early photographs reveal old Japan, encounters and collaborations between Japanese and Dutch people, social tensions as Japan opened up to the outside world, and the building of a new Japan. The book is published by Wbooks (ISBN 9789462587977), edited by Maartje van den Heuvel and Akiyoshi Tani, comprises 320 pages, contains approximately 200 images and is available for €39.95.
Registration is required (separate from registration for the exhibition opening at Japan Museum SieboldHuis).
Programme (all presentations will be in English)
10:30 | Registration and coffee/tea
10:45 | Doors open
11:00 | Welcome by Kurt De Belder, Director of Leiden University Libraries
11:05 | Lecture 1: Maartje van den Heuvel, Curator of Photography at Leiden University Libraries and guest curator of the exhibition. The Historiography at Leiden University of the Introduction of Photography to Japan from Dejima
11:45 | Lecture 2: Akiyoshi Tani, Photography Specialist, Center for Collaborative Research on Historical Resources, University of Tokyo. The Introduction of Photography to Japan: Contemporary Perspectives on the Introduction of this New Medium
12:30 | Lunch
13:30 | Hans Rooseboom, Curator of Photography, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam. The Donation to the Rijksmuseum of 121 Photographs Made and Collected by the Bauduin Brothers during their Work in Japan in the 1860s.
14:00 | Sara Keijzer, Curator of Photography, Het Scheepvaartmuseum, Amsterdam. The Albums of Dirk de Graeff van Polsbroek, One of the Most Important Dutch Diplomats in Japan in the 1850s and 1860s.
14:30 | Esther Scholtes, Curator of Photography, Royal Collections, The Hague. The Japanese Delegation that Visited Europe and the Netherlands in 1862: Relations with the Dutch Royal Family and the Exchange of Gifts.
15:00 uur | Book launch with two honorary guests, mister Michii Rokuichiro, Ambassador of Japan in the Netherlands, and Herman Moeshart, former member of staff at the Print Room and author of the first book on the history of early Japanese photography. This groundbreaking work laid an important foundation for the historiography of early Japanese photography.
15:30 | Walk to the SieboldHuis, Rapenburg 19, Leiden
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Opening exhibition – Japan Museum SieboldHuis
Japan Museum SieboldHuis
Rapenburg 19
2311 GE Leiden
You are warmly invited to attend the festive opening of the exhibition Light over Dejima at Japanmuseum SieboldHuis on Thursday 24 September.
Light over Dejima invites visitors to discover the earliest photography of Japan. The exhibition shows how Dutch and Japanese doctors and researchers began experimenting with photographic techniques on Dejima in the mid-nineteenth century. Photography subsequently developed into an invaluable means of documenting a society in transition. This fascinating history takes on an additional layer of meaning in the former home of Philipp Franz von Siebold, who gave a lasting impetus to the exchange of knowledge between Japan and the Netherlands.
Registration is required (separate from the symposium and book presentation at Leiden University Libraries). Would you like to bring a guest? You can reserve two tickets for the opening:
Program
15:30 | Welcome and doors open
16:15 | Welcome address by Marianna van der Zwaag, Director of Japan Museum SieboldHuis
16:20 | Presentation of the book Light over Dejima to Mr Michii Rokuichiro, Ambassador of Japan to the Netherlands, and Prescillia van Noort, Wethouder for Culture of the Municipality of Leiden
16:30 | Introduction by Maartje van den Heuvel, Curator of Photography at Leiden University Libraries and guest curator of the exhibition
16:35 | Viewing of the exhibition and drinks
18:00 | End of the opening
The symposium, exhibition and book are the result of a special collaboration between Leiden University Libraries, Nagasaki University Library, Japan Museum SieboldHuis, the Nfg and various museums and photography collections in the Netherlands and Japan.
Light over Dejima was realised with the generous support by the Isaac Alfred Ailion Foundation.
Voorjaarsledendag | Donderdag 7 mei 2026 Maak kennis met Lens Foto Expo Nijmegen & De Nieuwe Honig
Datum: Donderdag 7 mei
Locatie: Nieuwe Honig, Waalbandijk 14D, 6541 BK Nijmegen
Entree: 5 euro
Voertaal: Nederlands
Reserveren via secretaris@fotogenootschap.nl
Najaarsledendag NFg – Sectordag Fotografie – 6 oktober Museum Hilversum
Locatie: Museum Hilversum, Kerkbrink 6, Hilversum
– 12 minuten lopen vanaf NS-station Hilversum
Datum: maandag 6 oktober 2025
Tijd: 10.00 – 17:00
Aanmelden: Secretaris@fotogenootschap.nl
Toegang:
Gratis: Leden (per instituutslid max 3 medewerkers gratis, daarboven Betaalde toegang)
Betaalde toegang:
Helde dag (incl. lunch) : € 25,- p.p. (€12,50 studententarief)
Dagdeel: € 10, – p.p. (€5,- studententarief)
Oproep! Vroege fotografie van Japan
Universiteit Leiden en Amsterdam University Press maken samen met de universiteiten van Tokyo en Nagasaki een Engelstalige publicatie over de introductie (tot 1870) en vroege verspreiding (tot 1900) van fotografie in Japan. Redactie: Akiyoshi Tani, fotohistoricus van de Universiteit van Tokyo, en Maartje van den Heuvel, fotohistoricus en conservator fotografie van Universiteit Leiden. Het wordt een Engelstalige update van het boek Herinneringen aan Japan, dat in 1987 alleen in het Nederlands en Japans verscheen. Collecties die losse afdrukken of albums beheren van fotografie uit/over Japan tot 1900 kunnen dit tot 30 september (zodat de auteurs van het boek nog weet kunnen hebben van deze fotografie) melden bij Maartje van den Heuvel. Tevens is doel: november 2025 hebben de instituten hun vroege fotografie van Japan die zij in collectie hebben op hun eigen beeldbank online. In een samenwerking met Nagasaki University zal dit materiaal ook worden ontsloten (en verrijkt!) door de portal Global Database for Old Japanese Photos. N.B.: Dit is niet een groot samenwerkings- of digitaliseringsproject, alleen een afstemming tussen collecties die gelijktijdig, ieder volgens eigen werkwijze, hun vroege Japanse fotografie online zetten.
Leerstoelen theorie en geschiedenis van de fotografie
Het bestuur van het Nederlands Fotogenootschap zet zich op dit moment actief in voor het instellen van leerstoelen theorie en geschiedenis van de fotografie aan Nederlandse universiteiten. Bestuurslid Joke de Wolf legt uit waarom dit volgens haar noodzakelijk is. Klik hier om het artikel te lezen.
(Dit artikel verscheen in nummer 115 (maart 2025) van Fotografisch Geheugen. Fotografisch Geheugen is het rijk geïllustreerde magazine van het NFg met een zelfstandige redactie waarin conservatoren, foto-archivarissen en andere fotospecialisten schrijven over uiteenlopende onderwerpen rond fotografie, fotocollecties, archivering, conservering en de geschiedenis van fotografie in Nederland. Fotografisch Geheugen verschijnt drie keer per jaar, klik hier voor een jaarabonnement (slechts 35 euro).
Najaarsledendag – Sector Fotografie | Vrijdag 25 oktober 2024
Locatie: Nieuwe Instituut, Museumpark 25, 3015 CB Rotterdam
Datum: vrijdag 25 oktober
Tijd: 10.00 – 17:00
Aanmelden: Secretaris@fotogenootschap.nl
Toegang:
Gratis: Leden (per instituutslid max 3 medewerkers gratis, daarboven Betaalde toegang)
Betaalde toegang:
Hele dag (incl. lunch) : € 25,- p.p. (€12,50 studententarief)
Dagdeel: € 10, – p.p. (€5,- studententarief)