Frederick William Sutton
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Frederick William Sutton (29 August 1832 - 28 January 1883) was an English early amateur photographer and naval engineer best known for photographing in
Meiji period The was an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonizatio ...
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
.


Early life

Sutton was born in
Woolwich Woolwich () is a town in South London, southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was mainta ...
,
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
on 29 August 1832, the son of a civil engineer. He joined the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
in 1854 as a Third Class Assistant, around the beginning of the
Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...
, on HMS ''St Vincent'', later transferring to HMS ''Simoom'' on course to the
Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...
. Landing in
Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
, the ''Simoom'' acted as a supply ship to
Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...
and in May 1855 at
Sevastopol Sevastopol ( ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea and a major port on the Black Sea. Due to its strategic location and the navigability of the city's harbours, Sevastopol has been an important port and naval base th ...
in an Anglo-French naval raid, she fought against the Russian opposition on the
Sea of Azov The Sea of Azov is an inland Continental shelf#Shelf seas, shelf sea in Eastern Europe connected to the Black Sea by the narrow (about ) Strait of Kerch, and sometimes regarded as a northern extension of the Black Sea. The sea is bounded by Ru ...
. In 1858 he was assigned to HMS ''Exmouth'' as an Assistant Engineer, and in 1861 he was promoted to Engineer and again in 1864 to Chief Engineer. In 1858 he married Georgina Margaret Drummond. Sutton's time in Japan influenced Sutton to name his youngest daughter
Ume ''Prunus mume'', the Chinese plum or Japanese apricot, is a tree species in the family Rosaceae. Along with bamboo, the plant is intimately associated with art, literature, and everyday life in China, from where it was then introduced to Kor ...
, and his last home was named 'Nihon'. After returning to England in 1879, he suffered with further health problems in 1881 and died of heart problems and
Dropsy Edema (American English), also spelled oedema (British English), and also known as fluid retention, swelling, dropsy and hydropsy, is the build-up of fluid in the body's tissue. Most commonly, the legs or arms are affected. Symptoms may inclu ...
.


Japan

In April 1865, Sutton joined the steam-warship HMS Serpent (1860) as Chief Engineer, posted to the
China Sea The China Seas consist of a series of marginal seas in the Western Pacific Ocean, around China. They are the major components signifying the transition from the continent of Asia to the Pacific Ocean.Pinxian Wang, Qianyu Li, Chun-Feng Li, ''Geol ...
for surveying duty. By 1867, HMS Serpent continued along the west and north-west coast of Japan, due to the impending opening of the port of Hyogo to foreign trade under the
Anglo-Japanese Treaty of Amity and Commerce The was signed on 26 August 1858 by Lord Elgin and the then representatives of the Japanese government (the Tokugawa shogunate), and was ratified between Queen Victoria and the Tycoon of Japan at Yedo on 11 July 1859. The concessions which J ...
. In May the same year, she docked off
Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...
to allow British officials to negotiate with Japanese
Shogun , officially , was the title of the military aristocracy, rulers of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor of Japan, Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, exc ...
al representatives the location of the foreign settlements at Hyogo and Osaka and surveying the North West Coastline, last surveyed in any capacity under the British in the 1790s by William Broughton, departing from
Nagasaki , officially , is the capital and the largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. Founded by the Portuguese, the port of Portuguese_Nagasaki, Nagasaki became the sole Nanban trade, port used for tr ...
in June 1868 having completed surveyance and explored lighthouse installment later completed by
Richard Henry Brunton Richard Henry Brunton FRGS MICE (26 December 1841 – 24 April 1901) was a British engineer known as the "Father of Japanese lighthouses". Brunton was born in Muchalls, Kincardineshire, Scotland. He was employed by the government of Meiji pe ...
. 'Captain Sutton has been surveying the harbours of Osaka and Hiogo and the foreign quarters onshore, of all which he has made good plans.' In May 1867, the Navy asked Sutton to begin using his camera setup to capture images of Japan in
Osaka Bay Osaka Bay (大阪湾 ''Ōsaka-wan'' ) is a bay in western Japan. As an eastern part of the Seto Inland Sea, it is separated from the Pacific Ocean by the Kii Channel and from the neighbor western part of the Inland Sea by the Akashi Strait. I ...
. In August 1866, the Serpent escorted Minister Parkes on nonofficial visits to
Satsuma Satsuma may refer to: * Satsuma (fruit), a citrus fruit * ''Satsuma'' (gastropod), a genus of land snails Places Japan * Satsuma, Kagoshima, a Japanese town * Satsuma District, Kagoshima, a district in Kagoshima Prefecture * Satsuma Domain, a ...
and Uwajima, and it was during this period that Parkes commissioned Sutton to photograph
Tokugawa Yoshinobu Kazoku, Prince was the 15th and last ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. He was part of a movement which aimed to reform the aging shogunate, but was ultimately unsuccessful. He resigned his position as shogun in late 1867, while ai ...
. On 1 May 1867, Sutton was received by the Shogun and took portraits he processed using collodion-treated glass plates and was run in the
Illustrated London News ''The Illustrated London News'', founded by Herbert Ingram and first published on Saturday 14 May 1842, was the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine. The magazine was published weekly for most of its existence, switched to a less freq ...
as a woodcut illustration on 10 August 1867.
Felice Beato Felice Beato (c. 1832 – 29 January 1909), also known as Felix Beato, was an Italian Briton, Italian–British photographer. He was one of the first people to take photographs in East Asia and one of the first war photography, war photographer ...
would go on to reissue the images for posterity. Sutton succeeded in developing the negatives despite losing some of his lenses and chemicals in a shipping incident with choppy waters; but without a larger lens, Sutton had to take his portraits in a small format. Sutton would go on to take 16 further collodion plate photographs of
Osaka Castle is a Japanese castle in Chūō-ku, Osaka, Chūō-ku, Osaka, Japan. The castle is one of Japan's most famous landmarks and played a major role in the unification of Japan during the sixteenth century of the Azuchi–Momoyama period. Layout Th ...
and other landscapes and views, which survived in the publishings of
Francis Frith Francis Frith (also spelled Frances Frith, 7 October 1822 – 25 February 1898) was an English photographer and businessman. Francis Frith & Co., the company he founded in 1860 with the initial goal of photographing every town and village in Eng ...
s 'series of World Views'. From the 7 July to 11 July, he also took images of the Ainu at
Hakodate is a Cities of Japan, city and seaports of Japan, port located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Oshima Subprefecture. As of January 31, 2024, the city had an estimated population of 239,813 with 138,807 househol ...
, which are thought to be the first images ever taken of the Ainu peoples, encouraged by Thomas Blakiston on Sutton's behalf. On the 21 March 1868, Sutton accompanied Parkes again to
Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...
, and began photographing his lodgings ( Chionin Temple) and their Japanese escorts, with an early example of a
Panorama A panorama (formed from Greek language, Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any Obtuse angle, wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography (panoramic photography), film, seismic image ...
of the Kyoto landscape. After the attack on the British Legation on 27 March, he also photographed the severed head of their attackers and departed Japan. He returned to Japan in 1873 in July as a member of
Archibald Lucius Douglas Admiral Sir Archibald Lucius Douglas, (8 February 1842 – 12 March 1913) was a Royal Navy officer of the 19th century. Naval career Douglas was born in Quebec City in pre-Confederation Canada in 1842. Educated at the Quebec High School, he j ...
s British Naval training mission, based in
Tsukiji Tsukiji (築地) is a district of Chūō, Tokyo, Japan. Literally meaning "reclaimed land", it lies near the Sumida River on land reclaimed from Tokyo Bay in the 18th century during the Edo period. The eponymous Tsukiji fish market opened in 193 ...
at the
Imperial Japanese Naval Academy The was a school established to train line officers for the Imperial Japanese Navy. It was originally located in Nagasaki, moved to Yokohama in 1866, and was relocated to Tsukiji, Tokyo, in 1869. It moved to Etajima, Hiroshima, in 1888. Students ...
. In 1874 Sutton took over the Engineering class with two teaching staff, on his advice at a new naval cadet training school opened at
Yokosuka is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has a population of 373,797, and a population density of . The total area is . Yokosuka is the 11th-most populous city in the Greater Tokyo Area, and the 12th in the Kantō region. The city i ...
in May 1874 where he worked as 'Head of the steam department' for the newly formed Naval Arsenal. Taken ill in the summer, he recuperated in Nikko, where he resided in a traditional Japanese abode until April 1875. He was reported by British officials to speak Japanese, and thoroughly 'likes the country f Japan, frequently finding little time other than to carry on his photography, engaging in local culture, which are presumed to be lost. In 1876 his contract was renewed and he moved his 3 daughters to Japan with him, where they hosted regular tea parties and tennis activities at their home in Tokyo's foreign community. After suffering a related deterioration of his health in February 1879, in April his contract was terminated and they returned home on 19 May 1879 after receiving an audience with
Emperor Meiji , posthumously honored as , was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the List of emperors of Japan, traditional order of succession, reigning from 1867 until his death in 1912. His reign is associated with the Meiji Restoration of 1868, which ...
, departing from
Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...
. Sutton on returning to London in 1879 also attempted to deliver a series of lectures about his photographic slides entitled 'Lantern Exhibitions of Travels in the Eastern Island World, China, Loo-Choo, and Japan'SUTTON Frederick William, Sixth Reading for Lantern Exhibitions of Travels in the Eastern Island World, China, Loo-Choo, and Japan: Japan, London, WF Stanley, nd . 1882 SUTTON Frederick William, Seventh Reading for Lantern Exhibitions of Travels in the Eastern Island World, China, Loo-Choo, and Japan: Old and New Japan, London, WF Stanley, nd . 1882


External links


Sutton
at guimet-photo-japon.fr (in French)
Sutton
at V&A Collections


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sutton, Frederick William 1832 births 1883 deaths British expatriates in Japan 19th-century English photographers People from Woolwich