tamoto kenzō (田本 研造, 1832–1912) was a japanese photographer. he was born in kumano, in the mie prefecture of honshu. when he was twenty-three, he moved to nagasaki to study western culture. in 1859, he relocated to hakodate, where he lost a foot due to frostbite. the surgeon who amputated his foot had an interest in photography, specifically ambrotypes, and tamoto became his apprentice. it was not until 1866 that he began working as a photographer. in 1867, he photographed the construction of the last castle to be built in japan, fukuyama castle. tamoto took photographs of military leaders en…