Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on August 2014

Born in the Netherlands, Kjeld Duits is a photojournalist with his fingers in many pots. His images and writing have been featured on the BBC and in The Times, as well as in books, documentaries and more.

One of Duits’ many passions is collecting vintage photographs taken in Japan between the 1860s and the 1930s—from the Meiji to Showa eras—that he licenses through boutique photo agency MeijiShowa. Many of the photos are sourced from international dealers or collectors, since most extant early photographs were bought by visiting foreigners. New waves of images come up every so often, when their original owners or their descendants pass on and their children have no interest in them.

Duits’ blog, Old Photos of Japan, represents the informative, hobby side of his business. Here he fills pages with his encyclopedic knowledge of the nation, accompanying photos with detailed descriptions of the key places, events and daily habits of the period, like a guided tour of historic Japan.

On the modern side, Duits runs one of the foremost Japanese street fashion blogs, Japanese Streets. Launched in 2002, it was among the first fashion blogs in Japan, and the very first to cover the beat in English. He also covers major Tokyo fashion shows and features interviews with the designers and artists. With over 30,000 images and updated regularly, the site is a fashionista’s paradise—and a great snapshot of what’s hot in Japan. Duits can even claim to have shot street fashion pics of Kyary Pamyu Pamyu several times long before she took over the world with her saccharine-sweet pop and crazy outfits.