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New Zealander finds photos in antique Japanese sewing box, requests Internet’s help tracing them

Richard Simmonds Sep 14, 2017
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Twitter wants you to help find the people taken in these beautiful black-and-white photos from Japan’s past.

New Zealander Twitter user @irisshackleton got a surprise when she opened up a beautiful antique Japanese sewing box she had bought and discovered some old, black-and-white photographs inside. Determined to return them to family members, @irisshackleton has put on her sleuth’s hat and requested outside assistance.

The shop in Christchurch where the piece was purchased no longer exists, and so after reaching that dead end, @irisshackleton decided to enlist other Twitter users’ help in hunting down the descendants of the mystery man, woman and child in the photographs.

I need yr help. I bought this antq Japanese Sewing box & photos were inside. Tinternet: help me find the family to return the photos PLS: RT pic.twitter.com/cIA7PxuWpr

— Iris Shackleton (@irisshackleton) September 9, 2017

People have been quick to offer their help by posting the images to their Facebook pages or retweeting the message, and Twitter user @Snfm23 offered to send the story to Japanese television news stations, with others sending the information to Japanese-language newspapers. With over 34,000 retweets at time of writing, and even having been featured on Japanese television, the story has started to spread across Japanese social media.

▼ The antique Japanese sewing box that contained the photographs

Since neither the photographs nor the box have any writing or marks from which to guess the provenance, Twitter users have tried to help out by deducing the location and time-frame the photos were likely taken in. Several have suggested that the style of clothing suggested the late Meiji or early Taisho periods (late nineteenth century through to the early twentieth century). Others speculate that the child’s toy might give some clue as to the era or region.

▼ The photos show a man, a woman, and a child but have no clues as to their identities.

Twitter user @suwadaisuke translated the news into Japanese to help spread the word.

Copy&paste the phrase below, every Japanese should understand. Good luck from Yokohama!
「骨董品の裁縫箱買ったら日本人家族の写真が。家族に写真を返したいので探すのをRTして手伝って下さい。」

— 諏訪大介🛍️夫婦でShopifyと子育ての日々 (@suwadaisuke) September 10, 2017

Before the Internet came along, it was said that there were only six degrees of separation between any two people in the world. With social media like Twitter and Facebook, that number may have gotten even smaller, so while the chances of finding relatives of the family in the photographs (a family who would have to be able to recognise their grandparents or possibly great-grandparents) are understandably slim, there’s always a chance, so if you or someone you know has any clues, let your voice be heard. It also shows the role the Internet can play in allowing people to help out a stranger or get two people together. When it isn’t filling our computer screens with cats, that is.

Source, images: Twitter/irisshackleton