Cabinet Card - F. Kitamura's Imperial Japanese Troupe Scarce photo of acrobats
[Japan] Scarce cabinet card showing the Imperial Japanese Troupe along with a Western man who presumably helped manage the troupe whilst on tour. Fukumatsu Kitamura was apparently a juggler from Fukui prefecture and the troupe's first U.S. tour, which included a stop in Chicago, was in 1890. They returned to Chicago in 1901 with seventeen members including Kitamura’s wife, Hisa, age thirty-seven, and his daughter, Kane, age eighteen, who were both jugglers. In 1908, Kitamura left show business and opened a Japanese grocery store in New York, Takeda Kitamura Shokai, which expanded its import business to include Japanese art goods. Kitamura died suddenly in May 1913 and his death led to the closing of the business.
Photographer unknown.
[No place] [Probably Chicago]. 14.2 x 9.8cm.
In very good condition. Slight loss of contrast and minor fading only.
