CDVs of Kido Takamasa (Kuruhara Hikotaro) Taken in Massachusetts when at high school
[Japan] Kuruhara Hikotaro (1857-1917) was a Japanese palace official and politician of the Choshu clan. He was the eldest son of Kuruhara Ryozo (1829-62) and Wada Haruko (? - 1875), who was the younger sister of Kido Takayoshi (1833-77) aka Katsura Kogoro. Hikotaro went to the US to study at Amherst College from 1871-75 when these photos were taken. Hikotaro's younger brother, Shojiro, became the adopted son of Kido Takayoshi, but when he died of liver disease in 1880 at 24 years old on board a ship near Sri Lanka when returning to Japan from Germany, Hikotaro became head of the Kido family that same year. He was then known as Kido Takamasa and was the father of Kido Koichi (1889-1977). Two of the CDVs show Hikotaro posing in a studio (one signed, 'Kuruhara Hikotaro' in Japanese, the other signed, 'Hiko Kurubara' in English), one shows Hikotaro sitting outside with two Western friends presumably, the other is an unidentified Japanese student, who was probably a friend of Hikotaro's. Note that Hikotaro's original family name is known to have been spelled Kuruhara, Kurubara, Kurihara and Kuribara but, assuming he himself wrote his name in English on the back of one photo, he clearly spells it Kurubara.
Each CDV - Amherst, Massachusetts. J.L. Lovell. c1872.
Each approx. 9.6 x 5.7cm.
All in very good condition. Minor age wear and corner tips clipped on two of the CDVs. Minor loss of contrast to outdoor image. p33081029
