About This Print
One of many triptych prints by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839-1892) chronicling various battles of the Satsuma Rebellion. This print depicts a night time landing of naval forces in the early March battle of Tabaruzaka Hill in northern Kagoshima, one of the most intense campaigns of the war. Interestingly, this print omits all references (in the form of cartouches containing names) to specific rebel leaders or government military officers involved in the events, an almost universal component of Satsuma Rebellion prints.
The Battle of Tabaruzaka
The battle at Tabaruzaka Hill was the turning point of the Satsuma Rebellion of 1877. Imperial forces emerged victorious, but with over 4,000 killed or wounded on each side. The Meiji government's campaign against the rebels and their leader Saigo Takamori began in early March and this print likely depicts action associated with a final assault by government forces on March 19. The assault by government forces came by sea and from the hills above and we can see a line of government soldiers and artillery on the ridge top in the right panel.
The first important rebel casualty happened at Tabaruzaka, when Shinowara, one of Saigō's trusted commanders, died in the opening moments of the battle.
For readers of Japanese the Kagoshima Prefecture's website provides the following commentary on this print:
田原坂方面における血戦は最高潮であった。官軍は陸軍の応援として肥後の海に海軍力を投入，八代方面に上陸し薩軍の背後を衝くべく，3月19日，日奈久の南方須口の浜にボートを利して大軍を上陸させた。上陸軍は黒木中佐を長とする歩兵第２連隊と巡査500名であった。この上陸成功は薩軍に大打撃を与えた。
「図説，西郷隆盛」昭和52年から
The following tanka was composed by Emperor Meiji in November 1902 as his train passed through Tabaruzaka:
latest revision:
Undated photo of damaged storehouse at Tabaruzaka battlefield
For readers of Japanese the Kagoshima Prefecture's website provides the following commentary on this print:
田原坂方面における血戦は最高潮であった。官軍は陸軍の応援として肥後の海に海軍力を投入，八代方面に上陸し薩軍の背後を衝くべく，3月19日，日奈久の南方須口の浜にボートを利して大軍を上陸させた。上陸軍は黒木中佐を長とする歩兵第２連隊と巡査500名であった。この上陸成功は薩軍に大打撃を与えた。
「図説，西郷隆盛」昭和52年から
The Emperor's Poem
Source: Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World, 1852-1912, Donald Keene, Columbia University Press, 2002, p. 582.The following tanka was composed by Emperor Meiji in November 1902 as his train passed through Tabaruzaka:
| mononofu no semetatakaishi Tabaruzaka matsu mo oiki ni narinikeru kana | At Tabaruzaka Where warriors once attacked And fought in battle, Now even the sapling pines Have turned into aged trees. |
Tabaruzaka Battlefield Park, Kumamoto 田原坂 熊本
A small part of the battlefield is now set up as a park, with markers and monuments placed along the road where events took place. At the park, a monument with a list of all casualties on both sides is next to the museum as well as a grave with the first 20 Meiji troops dead.Photo by Mark.M.Watanabe
Print Details
| IHL Catalog | #460 |
| Title | Illustration of the Navy Landing at Sukuchi Village (Kaigun Sukuchi-mura jōriku no zu 海軍須口村上陸之図) |
| Series | Chronicle of the Conquest of Kagoshima (Kagoshima seitōki no uchi 鹿児嶌征討全記之内) |
| Artist | Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839-1892) |
| Signature |  |
| Seal | none |
| Date | April 23, 1877 四月廿日三 [see publisher's seal below] |
| Publisher |  畫工 月岡米次郎 [artist Tsukioka Yonejirō] [artist's address] 出版人 綱嶋亀吉 [publisher Tsunashima Kamekichi] [publisher's address] |
| Carver | |
| Impression | excellent |
| Colors | excellent |
| Condition | fair - wrinkling and soiling; damage along bottom and right margin |
| Genre | ukiyo-e; senso-e |
| Miscellaneous |  |
| Format | horizontal oban triptych |
| H x W Paper | 14 x 9 3/4 in. (35.6 x 23.4 cm) each sheet |
| Collections This Print | The Tsubouchi Memorial Theatre Museum of Waseda University, 201-3470, 201-3471, 201-3472; Rarebooks National Diet Library 8-5-1-1 01-004, 005, 006; |
| Reference Literature |
3/21/2020
1/7/2019
1/1/2019
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