Photography & Culture Volume 1—Issue 1—July 2008, pp. 51–72 Photography฀฀ &฀Culture Volume฀I—Issue฀I July฀2008 pp.฀51–72 Reprints available directly from the publishers Photocopying permitted by licence only © Berg 2008 Shinrei฀Shashin:฀ Photographs฀of฀Ghosts฀ in฀Japanese฀Snapshots Richard฀Chalfen Richard Chalfen is Professor Emeritus, Anthropology, Temple University, and past president of the American Anthropological Association’s Society of Visual Anthropology. He is currently Senior Scientist at the Center on Media and Child Health at Children’s Hospital Boston/Harvard Medical School. Publications include Snapshot Versions of Life (1987), Turning Leaves (1997), Through Navajo Eyes (co-author, 2001) and Snapping and Wrapping: Japanese Home Media (in progress). Abstract Some Japanese snapshot photographs are believed to include images of ghosts, known in Japan as shinrei shashin. This phenomenon is examined in a series of personal interviews and an historical overview of ghost beliefs in Japan. Japanese ghost belief, imagery, and reference have roots in myth, folklore, and theater and can be found in mass media including film, manga, anime, novels, short stories, and now video games. But appearance in home media has been overlooked. The topic of ghost snapshots is seldom mentioned in Japan but is familiar to virtually all Japanese; even temples and shrines have remedies. Rather than attempting to offer a definitive truth or to judge the verisimilitude of the problematic existence of visualized ghosts, I consider logical ways whereby relationships among belief in ghosts, photographic representation, and Japanese culture can exist. This case study presents a challenge to the dominant theories of photography, when cross-cultural examples can necessitate a need to re-evaluate how we think about cultural dimensions of implication, inference, and communication in photographic representation. Keywords: Japan, spirit photography, home media, ghost beliefs, visual representation, snapshots