The Huge Win of the Armed Forces, Issue 4 from the Osaka newspaper Kagoshima-ken ari no sonomama

The Rebellion Begins, Issue 1 from the Osaka newspaper Kagoshima-ken ari no sonomama
 

 Japanese Color Woodblock Print

The Huge Win of the Armed Forces,

Issue 4 from the Osaka newspaper

Kagashima-ken ari no sonomama

attributed to Hasegawa Sadanobu II, March 1877

true news from

IHL Cat. #567

About This Print

The fourth print in a series of twenty prints describing and depicting the 1877 Satsuma Rebellion published under the newspaper-like banner Kagashima ken ari no sonomama, loosely translated as "Kagoshima Prefecture As It Is Now." Published in Osaka by Kanai Tokubei 金井徳兵衛, the prints, classified as nishiki-e shinbun (newspaper prints), provided short articles with accompanying simplified graphics of the Rebellion's progress, or lack thereof. All twenty prints in the series show a publication month of March or April, so the life of this "newspaper" was even shorter than the nine month rebellion. For another print published under this banner see The Rebellion Begins, Issue 1 from the Osaka newspaper Ari no sonomama.

The red cartouche in the upper right hand corner reads 鹿児嶋縣 (Kagoshima-ken) 有のそのまま (Ari no sonomama) and also provides the print number in the series, 四 (4). The large print seen on the far right in the yellow scroll reads はら切坂友軍大勝利, a loose translation of which is "the huge win of the armed forces at Harakirizaka [Tawarazaka]."1 The red cartouches in the center of the print identify the rider on the horse as Major General Miyoshi Shigetomo, the former commander of the Osaka Brigade.

No artist signature or seal appears on this print, or any other of the twenty prints, and neither Waseda University or Kagawa University Library list the artist, but two sources, Andreas Marks2, and Kansai University Library3 attribute the prints to Hasegawa Sadanobu II (Konobu I) (1848-1940).

The entire series of twenty prints may be seen on the Waseda University Library website at http://archive.wul.waseda.ac.jp/kosho/bunko10/bunko10_08061/

For a summary of the brief life of nishiki-e shinbun (newspaper color woodblock prints) see the article Nishiki-e shinbun and Newspapers in Meiji Japan. To view other prints depicting the Satsuma Rebellion see the article Satsuma Rebellion and Saigō Takamori Prints.

1 The March 17, 1877 issue of The Japan Daily Mail carried a report from the Nichi Nichi Shinbun stating "We hear that Tawarazaka, where the rebels are posted, is a very strong position, and is called Harakiri-zaka by the Kumamoto people, for they have a saying that if an enemy should capture so strong a place it would be such a disgrace to the defenders that they ought to commit hara-kiri rather than continue war."
2 Japanese Woodblock Prints: Artists, Publishers and Masterworks 1680-1900, Andreas Marks, Tuttle Publishing, 2010, p. 190.
3 Kansai University Library has prints number 5, 7, 11 and 16 in their collection.

Other Impressions


 
<鹿児嶋縣>有のそのまま<はら切坂友軍大勝利>
Kagawa University Library
 
タイトル鹿児島県有のそのまゝ
Kagoshima-ken ari no sonomama

著者/作者金井徳兵衛編
Kanai Tokubei ed.

内容記述請求記号:文庫10 8061 4 ; 出版事項:明治10年3月 ; 号数:4 ; Request No.:Bunko10 8061 4 ; Publisher/Year/Place:Mar. 1877 ; No.:4

キーワード西垣文庫・錦絵
Nishigaki Bunko / Nishikie

Waseda University Library 10 8061 4


Print Details

 IHL Catalog
 #567
 Title or Description The Huge Win of the Armed Forces, issue number 4
 Newspaper 鹿児島県 有のそのまま Kagashima-ken ari no sonomama (based in Osaka)
 Artist  attributed to Hasegawa Sadanobu II (Konobu I) (1848-1940)
 Signature not signed
 Seal  not sealed
 Writer of Text
 likely Kanai Tokubei 金井徳兵衛
 Publication Date
March 5, 1877
 Publisher
Kanai Tokubei 金井徳兵衛
[Marks: pub. ref. 206: seal not shown]
 Carver 
 Printer 
 Impression excellent
 Colors excellent
 Condition good- not backed; full size, minor soiling
 Genre ukiyo-e; nishiki-e shinbun
 Miscellaneous 
 Format horizontal oban
 H x W Paper
 10 3/8 x 14 3/4 in. (26.4 x 37.5 cm)
 H x W Image 10 1/16 x 14 1/8 in. (25.6 x 35.9 cm)
 Literature

 Collections This Print
 Kagawa University LibraryWaseda University Library Call No. 文庫10 8061 4
last revision:
11/8/2019