About This Print

Print number 6 in a series of woodblock prints issued in Osaka carrying the latest news of the Satsuma Rebellion. This series of news prints, consisting of fifteen prints, was published for three months and then ceased publishing for an unknown reason. The series was one of a handful that sprung up to fulfill public demand for information on the short-lived rebellion.

Women Warriors, No. 6 from the newspaper “Kagoshima Prefecture, A Full and True Report” (Kagoshimaken makoto no shirase) Japanese;Meiji period, March 1877 Ukiyo-e woodblock-printed “brocade newspaper” (shinbun nishiki-e) in vertical ōban format; ink and color on paper TheLavenberg Collection of Japanese Prints, IHL.2184

KAGOSHIMA PREFECTURE, VOL. 6

A FULL AND TRUE REPORT

A certain person in the service ofKumamoto joined the Government forces and died spectacularly in battle. Whenhis wife heard of this she thought that, rather than live out her remainingyears in vain upon the largesse of the province, she would instead go forth anddispel her husband’s frustration. She tightened her sash and smoothed down herhems as she ran after the bandit-soldiers, determined not to let them escape.Wait for us, said the women who had served her for years, for we too would joinour lord. They ventured forth onto the battlefield and gazed upon the banditgang. Nimbly they brandished their swords, cutting into their foes, chargingthem, taking their heads, until it was a right bloodbath. They smiled as theystrode onto the field of battle. Theirs was a virtue rare these days.

Among the rebels were women whosefathers or husbands had died in battle, and who yearned to send them offproperly, even if it meant becoming corpses themselves, rather than fading inthe world crying helpless tears. A women’s brigade numbering over one thousandthus gathered unto the bandits’ encampment, it is said. Carrying halberds theolder women wore long white robes, while the younger wore gaiters of crimson cotton,and all wore headbands. &c, &c; to be continued in the next volume.

(Glynne Walley, Associate Professor of East Asian Languages& Literatures)

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