These timeless postcards offer an eye-opening glimpse into life in Japan in the early 20th century. Taken from hand-colored photographs, the postcards showcase the still beauty of the country, depicting a nation on the cusp of modernization. The images feature solemn fishermen, bustling streets, temples and shrines: a country yet to be influenced by Western culture. The tinting effect brings out the rich colors of the natural surroundings, with trees, flowers and cherry blossoms jumping from the original black-and-white images. Here: Toyokuni Shrine Nakanoshima, Osaka, Japan. (Photo by New York Public Library/Caters News)

The Belgian photographer Anton Kusters spent two years photographing the Yakuza, Japan’s most notorious gang. He returned with some amazing images that he made into a book called “Odo Yakuza Tokyo”. (Odo means “the way of the cherry blossom” and is the credo of the Yakuza family he followed. Photo: An erotic danser picks up fake 2-dollar bills during a private dance with a Yakuza customer in a strip tease bar in Kabukicho, a bar which is controlled by the ODO family – 2010. (Photo and caption by Anton Kusters)

A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket lifts off from historic launch pad 39-A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, February 6, 2018. The world' s most powerful rocket, SpaceX' s Falcon Heavy, blasted off Tuesday on its highly anticipated maiden test flight, carrying CEO Elon Musk' s cherry red Tesla roadster to an orbit near Mars. Screams and cheers erupted at Cape Canaveral, Florida as the massive rocket fired its 27 engines and rumbled into the blue sky over the same NASA launchpad that served as a base for the US missions to Moon four decades ago. (Photo by Thom Baur/Reuters)

British model Jourdan Dunn and London-based hair stylist Issac Poleon attend an event to celebrate the Maximilian Autumn/Winter 2022 collection in The Green Room at The Londoner Hotel on February 20, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images for The Londoner Hotel)

American dancer Julianne Hough is seen on September 12, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Rachpoot/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)

A woman poses for a photo in an almond plantation near Kiryat Gat, Israel February 17, 2018. (Photo by Amir Cohen/Reuters)

Irish television personality and presenter Maura Higgins showed off her platinum hairdo on April 18, 2022 at the annual music and arts festival Coachella festival held at the Empire Polo Club in California. (Photo by Instagram)

A crowd of tourists walk on the street near Kiyomizu-dera temple in Kyoto, western Japan on March 30, 2023. (Photo by Issei Kato/Reuters)