Fratelli Alinari (Florence) Venus of Syracuse Roman marble sculpture photographed ca. 1875-1900 Hermitage, St Petersburg

Christian missions provided the first organized musical training in the country, bringing to light many of the modern country's earliest musicians, including Enoch Sontonga, who wrote thenational anthem Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika. By the end of the nineteenth century, South African cities like Cape Town were large enough to attract foreign musicians, especially American ragtimeplayers. African American spirituals were popularized in the 1890s by Orpheus McAdoo's Jubilee Singers."

Kawatake Mokumai, a famous Kabuki playwright, passed away in 1893. Mokuami's works included Izayoi Seishin, Sannin Kichisa Kuruwa no Hatsugai, Murai Choan, Benten Kozo, Murubashi Chuya, Kamiyui Shinza, Kumo ni Mago Ueno no Hatsushana, Tsuchigumo, Ibaraki, and Funa Benkei.