About This Print
Image Description
Source: University of Vienna website http://ukiyoe.univie.ac.at/detail.asp?docid=941&lang=e&first=1
Interpretation
Source: University of Vienna website http://ukiyoe.univie.ac.at/detail.asp?docid=941&lang=e&first=1
This print was published in December and at the time the Japanese army had already conquered Port Arthur (Lushunkō) and Dairen on the peninsula Liaodong.
This print with the title “pinhead” shows a wooden doll, which looks like a Chinese official. It is modeled on the military commander-in-chief of the Chinese Empire, Li Honzhang. Next to the doll with the destroyed mouth, a Japanese soldier is also depicted. In the last line, it says “it's a shame about the mouth”, thus, the doll with the destroyed mouth points at the unfortunate loss of Port Arthur. Instead of the port of Port Arthur, the mouth of Port Arthur is mentioned again and again, this is a play with homonyms.
About The Series One Hundred Victories, One Hundred Laughs
This series One Hundred Victories, One Hundred Laughs was issued in three parts and presented parodies of the enemy, the Chinese in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 and ten years later the Russians in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905. The first part of the series titled Long Live Japan: One Hundred Victories, One Hundred Laughs, consisting of fifty prints, was issued between September 1894 and August 1895. The second part of the series titled Magic Lantern Society: One Hundred Victories, One Hundred Laughs, consisting of twelve prints, was issued between November 1895 and December 1896. Both of these parts parodied (often in a racist manner) the Chinese people, leadership and war effort. The third and last part of the series, consisting of eight-six prints, used the same title as the first part Long Live Japan: One Hundred Victories, One Hundred Laughs. Issued between April 1904 and April 1905, the prints parodied the Russian war effort. For more information about the series see the article One Hundred Victories, One Hundred Laughs on this site.
Print's Inscription - Japanese and English
Source: University of Vienna website http://ukiyoe.univie.ac.at/detail.asp?docid=941&lang=j&first=1
「花園口（くわえんこう）だの旅順（りよじゆんこう）だのと、大（おほ）きな口（くち）を幾個（いくつ）も持（も）つて / 居（い）ながら軍（ぐん）とも守（しゆ）うとも云（い）う事（こと）が出来（でき）ないとハ、 / 如何（いか）に木偶（でく）の坊（ぼう）とハ云（い）へ餘（あんま）り活智（いくち）が無（な）さ過（すぎ）る。 / 是（これ）が世（よ）に云（い）ふ娑婆塞（しやばふさ）ぎだ、此様（こん）な案山子（かかし）にも / 劣（おと）るやうなものを、此侭（このまま）打棄（うちすて）て置（おい）てハ文明人（ぶんめいじん） / の通行（つうこう）する妨（さまた）げだ、オヤ今（いま）まで此處（ここ）に豚尾人（とんびにん） / 足（そく）が大勢（おほぜい）居（い）たやうだつけ、自己（おれ）の姿（すがた）を見（ミ）ると / 皆（ミん）な何所（どこ）かへ逃（にげ）て仕舞（しまつ）たぞ。ヨシヨシ斯（こう）なりや / もう此方（こつち）の物（もの）だ。思（おも）ふ存分（ぞんぶん）に片（かた）ッ端（ばし）から打（ぶつ） / 潰（つぶ）して遣（やる）からさう思（おも）へ。ハテナ何所（どこ）から 取掛（とりかか）らう、全体（ぜんたい）此奴（こやつ）ハ脳味噌（のうミそ）もない癖（くせ）に / イヤに頭（あたま）を持上（もちや）げたがるから先（ま）づ手初（てはじ）めに / 頭（あたま）こなしと行（いつ）て、夫（それ）から此奴（こやつ）ハ又（また）餘（よ）ほど鉄面皮（てつめんぴ） / だからズルズルズルと面（つら）の皮（かわ）をヒン剥（むい）て、今度（こんど）ハ斯（こ）う / 此（この）旅順口（りよじゆんこう）をミリミリミリ」と頻（しきり）に威勢（いせい）よく打毀（ぶちこわ） / して居（い）ると、流石（さすが）に無神経（むしんけい）の木偶（でく）の坊（ぼう）も、 / 旅順口（りよじゆんこう）を奪（うば）ひ取（とら）れたのにハ閉口（へいこう）したと見（ミ）へて/ 鉄砲玉（てつぽうだま）のやうな涙（なみだ）をポロリポロリと溢（こぼ）しながら /「 ァ - 口おしい」
Source: University of Vienna website http://ukiyoe.univie.ac.at/detail.asp?docid=941&lang=e&first=1
Deku no bō Koppi Dōjin
Kaenkō da no Ryojunkō da no to ōkina kuchi o ikutsu mo motte / inagara gun to mo shu to mo iu koto ga dekinai to wa / ikani deku no bō to wa ie anmari ikuji ga nasasugiru. / Kore ga yo ni iu shabafusagi da. Konna kakashi ni mo / otoru yōna mono o kono mama uchisutete oite wa bunmeijin / no tsūkō suru samatage da. Oya ima made koko ni tonbinin/soku ga ōzei ita yō dakke, ore no sugata o miru to / minna doko ka e nigete shimatta zo. Yoshi yoshi kō narya / mō kotchi no mono da. omō zonbun ni katappashi kara bu/ttsubushite yaru kara sō omoe. Hatena doko kara / torikakarō, zentai koyatsu wa nōmiso mo nai kuse ni / iya ni atama o mochiagetagaru kara mazu tehajime ni / atamagonashi to itte, sore kara koyatsu wa mata yohodo tetsumenpi / da kara zuru zuru zuru to tsura no kawa o hinmuite kondo wa kō / kono Ryojunkō o mirimirimiri.” to shikiri ni isei yoku buchikowa/shite iru to, sasuga ni mushinkei no deku no bō mo / Ryojunkō o ubaitorareta no ni wa heikō shita to miete, / teppōdama no yōna namida o porori porori to koboshi nagara, / “Ä kuchioshī.”
Source: University of Vienna website http://ukiyoe.univie.ac.at/detail.asp?docid=941&lang=e&first=1
Pinhead [by] Koppi Dōnin
Japanese soldier: “You have so many mouths like Lushunkō (Port Arthur) and Kaenkō (Zhuanghe), but still you're not capable of saying gun (military) or shu (protector). You idiot, we know that you're a pinhead but still we expected more than this. You have too little courage and intelligence. You simply take up room in our world, everyone says that you're a great room waster on our earth. Many workers with bald heads and pigtails have run away at the mere sight of my form. If that's so, victory is as good as mine, so I can do everything. Now, I'm really getting started, you will see. Now I start destroying everything, nobody will stop me. Where should I start? You run into us again and again, even though you lack intelligence. We will destroy your head and even though you have an iron skin, we will strip it off. Now we will begin to destroy Port Arthur.”Because Port Arthur was destroyed and conquered, the pinhead says, even though he had been unsympathetic and with little sentiment up until then, shedding tears and ammunition: “What a shame about the mouth” (“I want to have my mouth/port back”).
Print Details
| IHL Catalog | #1218 |
| Title or Description | Blockhead Dekunobō 木偶の坊 [Note: the word dekunobō is sometimes translated as "pinhead." |
| Series | Long Live Japan: One Hundred Victories, One Hundred Laughs [also translated as Long Live Japan! One Hundred Selections, One Hundred Laughs] Nihon banzai: Hyakusen hyakushō 日本萬歳 百撰百笑 [日本万歳 百撰百笑] |
| Artist | Kobayashi Kiyochika (1847-1915) |
| Signature |  |
| Seal | Kiyochika? (seal is difficult to read, as shown above) |
| Publication Date | December 1894 (Meiji 27) |
| Publisher | Matsuki Heikichi (松木平吉) proprietor of Daikokuya |
| Impression | excellent |
| Colors | excellent |
| Condition | excellent |
| Genre | ukiyo-e; senso-e (Sino-Japanese War); giga; fūshiga |
| Miscellaneous | |
| Format | vertical oban |
| H x W Paper | 14 1/2 x 9 3/4 in. (36.8 x 24.8 cm) |
| H x W Image | 14 x 9 1/4 in. (35.6 x 23.5 cm) |
| Literature | |
| Collections This Print | British Library 16126.d.2(27); The Tsubouchi Memorial Theatre Museum of Waseda University Digital Archives Collection 012-1068 and 012-1061; Östasiatiska musee OM-2010-0007 |
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