Even before he left Japan in 1884, Beato would have experienced stiff competition from several photographers, most notably Kusakabe Kimbei (1841-1932) and Baron Raimund von Stillfried-Ratenicz (1839-1911). Both of these photographers had worked for Beato before they went out on their own.
Kusakabe was the Japanese photographer’s family name, but he also went by Kimbei, probably because it was easier for foreigners to remember. A highly artistic photographer, Kusakabe worked for both Beato and Stillfried before becoming one of the most sophisticated and successful photographers of the period in Japan.
An Austrian nobleman and military officer who first came to Japan in 1863, Stillfried became one of the most accomplished European photographers to build on Beato’s precedent. His photographs often display highly skilled hand coloring. Stillfried bought Beato’s studio and inventory in 1877, just several weeks after his own studio had burned down.