Featured Japanese photographs - help with dates/information/translation appreciated!

I picked these up at the market this morning - the stall holder told me they were imported from Japan along with some antique furniture. Any thoughts on date? I was thinking 1930s/40s? Unfortunately no names or information on the back of them (two of them are lightly attached to a backing paper):





They are all in frames, although these are a little tatty. The largest is about 17x12cm:




The stall holder threw in a bunch of postcards, mostly duplicates, that came with the photos. I've found a Zen[k]ichi Inouye, born 1870s, but living in California, not Japan. Maybe he moved to the USA. I'm still looking for information, but any help with these would be appreciated! Thanks!

 

WOW! Nice!
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Inouye....maybe a connection? >>>
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Inouye

 

Thanks for the link... intriguing!

They are great, aren't they? I'm hoping the photos and the postcards are really connected (not just a red herring).

If it's the right person, I found this interview, which I'm reading through at the moment. I can't find a connection to Tokyo yet, though: http://content.cdlib.org/view?docId...nk.id=d0e8239&toc.id=d0e9368&brand=calisphere

 

Those are intriguing.

Note the stoicism, for which many Asian cultures are noted, with which the gentleman bears his catheter.........................

 

Very likely of family members left behind in Japan. What state did you find them in? And is anything written on the back of photos?

Debora

 

Sorry, I should have said... I'm in the UK. The stall holder claimed they'd been imported from Japan, but maybe they came via the US. I've no way of knowing. Sadly there's nothing written on the photographs so the only information comes from the postcards, and I haven't had much luck so far with the address in Tokyo...

 

Just (another probably unwanted) observation, but did you notice the spelling on one of the adverts?
"Dealers of Hardware and Hone Articles"......wondering if that is a misspelling or if they are referring to actual HONED items, as the list mostly seems to be items with an edge...................

I am going to wonder about that until some other trivia comes along to steal some brain cells...............

 

Well, there are Inouyes in the UK. Here is a map showing regional distribution:

http://www.ancestry.com/name-origin?surname=inouye

Debora

 

Thanks for the link . I wish I knew more about these photos and where they came from, exactly...