NTU Library hosts the exhibition “Moments of the Everyday and the Extraordinary: Taiwan in Postcards from the Japanese Era.” .
Taipei — The National Taiwan University (NTU) Library proudly presents the “Moments of the Everyday and the Extraordinary: Taiwan in Postcards from the Japanese Era.” This special exhibition brings early 20th-century life into vivid focus through the art of the Ehagaki (picture postcard).
More than mere scenic souvenirs, Ehagaki served as a vital medium for sharing personal travel experiences and preserving fleeting moments in a tangible, enduring form. During the Japanese colonial period, postcards depicting Taiwan featured a remarkable range of imagery—from painted landscapes and mountain vistas to photographs of urban landmarks, emerging industries, social customs, and Indigenous cultures. Together, these artifacts capture the island’s diverse human and natural landscapes during a pivotal era of transformation.
The NTU Library houses a significant collection of over 1,000 historic postcards. This assemblage was curated from multiple prestigious sources: the Library’s Special Collections, private donations from local historians, image archives contributed by Prof. Tsung-Liang Chien of the NTU College of Medicine, and the treasured personal collection of the late Dr. Po-Chun Chen, an esteemed NTU alumnus and former Section Chief at the Central Geological Survey under the Ministry of Economic Affairs. Through the generous consent and collaboration of Dr. Chen’s family, the Library has digitized these materials, ensuring their long-term preservation and expanding the University’s digital archive.
At the heart of the exhibition is the theme of everyday life—the rhythms, routines, and aspirations of the era. Through postcards and commemorative stamps depicting milestones such as the 1935 Taiwan Exposition in Commemoration of the 40th Year of Japanese Rule, as well as urban leisure spaces and romantic excursions, visitors can glimpse how modernity, colonial administration, and local life intertwined.
By combining careful curation with advanced digital restoration, the NTU Library invites viewers to travel across time, experiencing the textures of both the everyday and the extraordinary. Each postcard, frozen in an instant of memory, serves as a portal to rediscover the layered complexity of Taiwan’s past.
Ehagaki postcard.
A view of the exhibition space at the NTU Library.
