About This Print
General Stoessel formally surrendered Port Arthur (Lushunklou, China) on January 5, 1905, after withstanding a nine month siege in which over 47,000 Japanese and 22,000 Russians had been killed or wounded.
While the war officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Portsmouth September 5, 1905, with the fall of Port Arthur, Russia’s defeat was assured.
The position of the fortress is becoming very painful. Our principal enemies are scurvy, which is mowing the men, and eleven-inch shells, which know no obstacle and against which there is no protection. There only remain a few who have not been attacked by scurvy. We have taken all the possible measures, but the disease is spreading. The passive endurance of the enemy’s bombardment, the eleven-inch shells, the impossibility of replying for want of ammunition, the outbreak of scurvy, and the loss of a mass of officers – all these causes diminish daily the capabilities of the defense. The tale of the losses of higher officers is an indication of the enormous losses we have sustained.
Preparatory Drawing for Illustration Appearing in
War in the Far East: A History of the Russo-Japanese Struggle v. 3-4
Print Details
IHL Catalog | #1469 |
Title (Description) | The Port Arthur Surrender 旅順降服 Illustration of the Second Meeting Between General Nogi and General Stoessel to Review Prisoners of War 乃木大 將トス テツセ ル将軍 ノ會見 并二捕 虜檢閲 之図 Ryojun kōfuku: Nogai taishō to Sutesseru shōgun no kaiken nami ni horyo ken'etsu no zu |
Artist | Utagawa Kokunimasa 小国政 (1874 – 1944) |
Signature | 柳蛙 Ryūa (signature used for Russo-Japanese War Prints) |
Seal | 江戸子 Edoko ("true Tokyoite") (see image above) |
Pub. Date | February 1905 (Meiji 38) (as shown in publisher seal below) |
Publisher | 武川清吉 Takekawa Seikichi (firm name Sawamuraya Seikichi) [Marks: pub. ref. 459; seal not shown] |
Impression | excellent |
Colors | excellent |
Condition | excellent |
Genre | nishiki-e, senso-e (Russo-Japanese War) |
Miscellaneous | |
Format | vertical oban triptych |
H x W Paper | 14 7/8 x 9 7/8 in. (37.8 x 25.1 cm) each sheet |
H x W Image | R: 14 3/16 x 9 1/4 in. (36 x 23.5 cm) C: 14 1/16 x 9 3/16 in. (35.7 x 23.3 cm) L: 14 1/8 x 9 3/16 in. (35.9 x 22.3 cm) |
Literature | Conflicts of Interest: Art and War in Modern Japan, Philip K. Hu, et. al., Saint Louis Museum of Art, 2016, p. 237, pl. 110 |
Collections This Print | Saint Louis Museum of Art 758:2010a-c |
3/30/2020