This print is one of fifty prints from the first part of the three part series One Hundred Victories, One Hundred Laughs. (Hyakusen hyakushô) created by the artist Kobayashi Kiyochika (1847-1915), the writer Nishimori Takeki (1861-1923), alias Koppi Dōjin, and the publisher Matsuki Heikichi (1870-1931).

Source: Playthings and Pastimes in Japanese Prints, Lea Baten, Weatherhill, 1995, p. 118
"A bearded Japanese officer is juggling with six small pig-tailed Chinese men in  the form of dolls.  To show how easy it is to defeat the Chinese, he plays with one hand.  With the other hand he balances a cannon and two rifles on a stick.  A young bugler provides music for the act."

In commenting on Kiyochika's samurai background and his contempt for the enemy and the racist depictions of the defeated Chinese foe, Baten comments:

The print is an interesting one for our study because the officer is playing a popular children's game called o-jamma (or ote-dama), which involves throwing small rag dolls or bags stuffed with peas, rice, or grain in the air and catching them alternately in a regular and continuous movement.  It is not surprising that the Chinese were mocked, for a Japanese samurai's highest aspirations were to be indifferent to suffering and to die for his master without hesitation.  In this light, the print echoes Johan Huizinga's words in his book Homo Ludens, "The Japanese samurai held the view that what was serious for the common man was but a game for the valiant."

 

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 Details