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

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Japanese Color Woodblock Print

The Rebellion Begins,

Issue 1 from the Osaka newspaper

Kagoshima-ken ari no sonomama

attributed to Hasegawa Sadanobu II, March 5, 1877

IHL Cat. #2169

About This Print

The first print in a series of twenty prints describing and depicting the 1877 Satsuma Rebellion published under the newspaper-like banner Kagoshima 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 Huge Win of the Armed Forces, Issue 4 from the Osaka newspaper Ari no sonomama.

In this print the red cartouches identify the army on the far bank as the government army and the troops on the near bank as the rebels.

The article relates that the government's armory was repeatedly raided at the end of January and in early February by the rebels and that the fighting between the army and rebels was still raging as of the publication of this print.

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 Marks¹, and Kansai University Library² 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 articleNishiki-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 Japanese Woodblock Prints: Artists, Publishers and Masterworks 1680-1900, Andreas Marks, Tuttle Publishing, 2010, p. 190.

² Kansai University Library has prints number 5, 7, 11 and 16 in their collection.

Transcription of Scroll

source: https://townweb.e-okayamacity.jp/saidaiji-r/SShiryoukan/seinan.pdf

鹿児島県有のそのまま初號

そもそも今般 (こんど) ／鹿児島 (かごしま) 県下 (けんか) 暴 (ぼう) ／
挙 (どう) の発 (おこ) りは本年 (ことし)
一月三十一日夜 (よる) を初 ( はじ) め県下 (くに) の弾薬 (たまくすり) ／庫 (くら) へ逆徒 (ぎゃくと) 多( た) 人 (にん) 数 (すう) 不意 (ふい) に押入 (おしい) り
小銃 (こづつ) 弾薬 (たまくすり) あまた奪取 (ばいとり) 二月二日／三日の夜よるには又またも同処どうしょへ乱みだれ入いり監つ
護 (め)の官吏 (やくにん) を騒 (さわ) がし倉庫 (くら) に残 (のこ) れる／物品 (しな) をことごとく掠 (かす) め取 (と) り
標札 (かけふだ) を掲 (か) け改 (あらた) め不日 (つづいて) ／郵便 (ゆうびん) 太平 (たいへい) 丸 (まる) が鹿児島 (かごしま) ／港 (みなと) へ帰航 (かえり (碇泊) (とまり) を見 (み) 懸 (か) け
乗組 (のりくみ) の官員 (かんいん) を引 (ひき) とどめ／兵器 (へいき) をふるふて各所 (ところどころ) を／俳徊 (あちこち) するは容易 (ようい) ならぬ
形状 (ありさま) のため高雄 (たかお) 丸にて河村海軍大輔林内務少輔の
両 (ふた) 公 (り) を現状 (げんじょう) 取 (とり) 乱 (みだし) として鹿児島 (かごしま) へむかはれしに県官 (けん) への使 (つか) ひ
属官 (くかん) 二員 (ふたり) を拘留 (ひきとめ) し銃器 (てっぽう) をそなへ小船 (こぶね) を繰出 (くりいだ) して◇ (もと) 船 (ふね) に
迫 (せま) り筒先 (つつさき) を開 (ひら) くへきふるまひに◇ (もと) 舟 (ふね) は纜 (ともづな) を解 (と) き近傍 (ちかく) の
海岸 (うみべ) へ碇 (いかり) を投 (おろ) し大山 (おおやま) 県令 (けんれい) へ事情 (ことがら) を糺 (ただ) すに逆徒 (わるもの) は
倉庫 (くらの) 弾薬 (もの) を暴挙 (さわがし) してより竟 (きょ) を迸 (はし) り当時 (とうじ) 帰 (き) 県 (けん) の
警察 (けいさつ) 官吏 (やく) あまたを縛 (しば) り無託 (なきこと) を餝 (かざ) り人心 (ひとこころ) を
動 (うご) かし兇徒 (わるもの) を聚 (あつめ) る形跡 (しあと) を見 (み) 認 (と) め両 (おふ) 公 (たり) 帰参 (かえり)

上 (もうし) 奏 (あげ) しなりたる折柄 (おりがら) 去る十八日には西郷 (さいごう) 隆盛 (たかもり)
桐野 (きりの) 利 (とし) 秋 (あき) 篠原 (しのはら) 国 (くに) 幹 (もと) 等 (ら政府 (せいふ) へ尋問 (じんもん) を名 (な) とし
凶徒 (わるもの) を引率 (ひきつれ) し兵器 (へいき) を携 (たずさ) へ熊本 (くまもと) 県下 (けんか) に
乱暴 (らんぼう) し国 (くに) を蔑 (あなど) り治世 (ちせい) を妨 (さまた) げる挙動 (さわぎ)
よりすでに征討 (せいとう) の御 (おん) 趣意 (こと) に陥 (おちい) りたるこそ顕然 (そのしが) たり
改 (あ) ら田 (た) 各所 (ここかし) の開戦 (たたかい) は続 (つづ) いて／図画 (ずが) を報 (ほう) ず
明治十年三月五日御届
同三月出版
阪府第三大区京区新町南通一丁目十一番地
編纂・出版金井徳兵衛

Print Details

IHL Catalog	#2169
Title or Description	The Rebellion Begins, first issue 初號
Newspaper	鹿児島県有のそのまま Kagoshima-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 1/4 x 14 7/16 in. (26 x 36.7 cm)
H x W Image	9 15/16 x 14 1/8 in. (25.2 x 35.9 cm)
Literature
Collections This Print	Kagawa University Library; Waseda University Library Call No. 文庫10 08061

last revision:

8/5/2021

11/7/2019 created