INDOCHINA INDOCHINA Japanese Courtesans in Indochina: Myth or Historical Reality?
They were Japanese, and they were regarded as courtesans… Their charm and presence captivated both French military officers and colonists in Indochina. Rumors painted them as modern-day Mata Haris—accused of using pillow talk to gather intelligence for the Japanese government, which had growing interests in Vietnam at the time. But what was the truth? Were these women mere legends, or did they play a real role in the shadows of history?
The Enigmatic Postcards
The postcards attributed to Pierre Marie Dieulefils, depicting (…)
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Japonese Consulate Launch of Cartacaro.com Cartacaro.com: Our English-Language Site
Our English-language site, [Cartacaro.com](https://cartacaro.com), is gaining remarkable traction without any advertising or outreach to specialized media (philatelists or cartophiles). We’re already seeing 200 to 400 daily visits, a result that exceeds our expectations and fuels our enthusiasm!
To build on this momentum, we plan to launch a promotional campaign and engage with English-speaking media by the end of 2026.
To ensure both quality and originality, each article will be translated and adapted into English with a six-month delay from (…)Color, Color and Color Good Morning Vietnam
Black and White Postcard Just for the fun, Look and Like
The Yên Linh Mines (Crocodile Stream) The Calamine Mines of Tuyên-Quang, Echo of Mines and Metallurgy 1918
This calamine mine is located behind the Trang-Da mine, in the upper valley of the Crocodile torrent. Exploited first at the summit, at an altitude of 400 m., with a transporter cable descending to Trang-Da, the vein is now exploited further down. Six floors of galleries, not to mention open-air quarries, open up at various altitudes, between 180 and 300 meters; It was impossible to think of bringing the ore up to the summit which divides the valleys of the Crocodile and Trang-Da, in order to take advantage of the (…)Tuyen Quang, Louis Baud, Yen Linh Mines Yên Linh Mining Company in Tuyên Quang, a joint-stock company with a capital of 700,000 francs, was established in 1912.
(L’Avenir du Tonkin, November 6, 1912)
The zinc it extracts is estimated at 74 tons from 186 tons of calamine (40%)
Back of the cards
Green back
It is Louis Baud, a hotelier, who publishes these postcards. His hotel in Tuyên Quang provides accommodation and rest for the military of the Tuyên Quang district, as well as for the personnel of the region’s mines.Watanabe, the Japanese Photographer in Hanoi 1910-1915 Watanabe, the Japanese Photographer in Hanoi: A Historical Enigma
A Mysterious Figure Emerges
From 1910 onward, a Japanese photographer named Watanabe operated in Hanoi. His name appeared in the Annuaire général de l’Indochine until 1914, always listed with the initial H. before his surname. Yet, another Watanabe—this time with a first name starting with S.—was credited on studio portraits.
Was this the same individual? A relative? Or simply an error in the directory, which often reused outdated information, updating only addresses or business statuses?
A Studio on the Move In (…)Haïkus, Michael Kenna Born in 1953 in Widnes, an industrial town in northwest England, Michael Kenna grew up in a working-class Catholic family. After seven years at a minor seminary, hoping to become a priest, the young man discovered a passion for art. He chose to study photography at the Banbury School of Art and then at the London College of Printing, from which he graduated in 1976. He moved to the United States the following year and in San Francisco met photographer Ruth Bernhard, whose printer he would be for more than ten years. Michael Kenna’s first trip to Japan in 1987 was a turning point in his (…)
Poemamo A little poetry in this world ...., very disturbed at the moment. -
Don’t hesitate, it relaxes and feels good.-
https://poemamo.com
–Haikus, The return to the motif During his travels in Asia, Michael Kenna developed a fondness for certain places and patterns, to the point of rephotographing them periodically. The series thus created have become essential milestones in his work.
Composed of female nudes taken in Japan since 2008, the series Rafu is situated on the fringes of the artist’s usual work. Like his landscapes, however, it harnesses the interpretive power of photography to question the relationship between the body and space. The organic flexibility of the bodies is reflected in photographs of an oak tree in Japan on Hokkaido, taken from (…)
