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Introduction

19th-Century Japanese Printmaking II

December 9, 1998 - March 7, 1999

After over two centuries of seclusion and strict regulation of foreign trade, Japan concluded a treaty to open two Japanese ports to American commerce in spring of the year following Commodore Perry's trip to Japan in 1853. Additional treaties with other Western nations quickly followed. The Japanese had long been fascinated by foreign intellectual thought, which had been gradually introduced beginning in the 18th century. In the mid-19th century, the need to meet the challenge of Western industrialization came to the fore as the Tokugawa shogunate crumbled. A series of broad political, social, and economic changes was introduced in 1868 with the enthronement of the frrst Meiji emperor and the restoration of imperial power. Tokyo's rush to modernize is effectively represented in the triptych by Kuniteru II, while Kiyochika's interest in Western techniques of modeling and atmospheric perspective present another aspect of artistic borrowing by printmakers of the late 19th century.

With the thriving trade of the late 19th century came Japan's realization that Western powers were carving out spheres of influence in East Asia that posed a threat to Japanese security. When Japan decided to pursue its claims to Korea, it used a rebellion against the Korean ruler in 1894 as the pretext for introducing Japanese troops. Korea had called upon China for assistance, but the Japanese attacked the Chinese and declared war after the fact on August 1, 1894. A succession of quick victories resulted in an 1895 treaty that ceded Taiwan to Japan, but Japan's desire to annex Korea and Manchuria was halted by the intervention of Russia, Germany, and France. At the conclusion of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-5, Japan was finally able to block Russia's claims in these areas. Japan's exclusive rights over Korea were recognized and control over various Manchurian trade ports and railways was established. The battle prints in this exhibition, which were created by artists who never visited the front lines, convey the nationalistic pride that swept over Japan during these wars of expansion.

Selected Objects

Taguchi Beisaku

Illustration of the invasion of China during which our troops fought fiercely in ice and snow and Major General Oshima bravely faced the enemy in ice and snow at Kaesong, 1895.3

Taguchi Beisaku

Seishin gigun kaijo seppyochu no gekisen oshima shosho yuso taiteki no zu, 1895.3

Kobayashi Kiyochika

The great attack in snow at Niuzhuang, ca. 1895

Kobayashi Kiyochika

The great attack in snow at Niuzhuang (Nyuchan setchu daigassen no zu), ca. 1895

Kobayashi Kiyochika

The great victory of our army at Pyongyang, 1894

Kobayashi Kiyochika

The great victory of our army at Pyongyang (Heijo gekisen wagagun daishori no zu), 1894

Kobayashi Kiyochika

The great attack in snow at Niuzhuang, ca. 1895

Kobayashi Kiyochika

Our Army Attacks the Chinese Encampment at Pyongyang, October 1894

Kobayashi Kiyochika

Our Army Attacks the Chinese Encampment at Pyongyang (Wagagun heijo no shin'ei o osou), October 1894

Ogata Gekkō

The First Army Advancing on Fengtienfu (Daiichigun hōtenfu shingeki no zu), 1894

Kobayashi Kiyochika

The great victory of our army at Pyongyang, 1894

Kobayashi Kiyochika

The great victory of our army at Pyongyang, 1894

Kobayashi Kiyochika

Ducks and withered lotus (Karetahasu ni kamo), 1879

Kobayashi Kiyochika

The great attack in snow at Niuzhuang, ca. 1895

Taguchi Beisaku

Illustration of the invasion of China during which our troops fought fiercely in ice and snow and Major General Oshima bravely faced the enemy in ice and snow at Kaesong, 1895.3

Taguchi Beisaku

Illustration of the invasion of China during which our troops fought fiercely in ice and snow and Major General Oshima bravely faced the enemy in ice and snow at Kaesong, 1895.3

Kason Suzuki

Woman reading a dispatch (Senshi koho), ca. 1904

Utagawa Kuniteru II

Prospering Tokyo: Steam Engine, Horse and Carriages, and Rickshaw (Tokyo jōkisha basha jinriki hanei zu), 1870's

Utagawa Kuniteru II

Prospering Tokyo: Steam engine, horses and carriage and jinricksha (Tokyo jokisha basha jinriki hanei zu), 1870's

Utagawa Kuniteru II

Prospering Tokyo: Steam engine, horses and carriage and jinricksha (Tokyo jokisha basha jinriki hanei zu), 1870's

Utagawa Kuniteru II

Prospering Tokyo: Steam engine, horses and carriage and jinricksha (Tokyo jokisha basha jinriki hanei zu), 1870's

Kobayashi Kiyochika

Our Army Attacks the Chinese Encampment at Pyongyang, October 1894

Kobayashi Kiyochika

Our Army Attacks the Chinese Encampment at Pyongyang, October 1894

Toyohara Chikanobu

The tea ceremony and flower arranging (Chanoyu kiribana), 1880's

Toyohara Chikanobu

The tea ceremony and flower arranging (Chanoyu kiribana), 1880's

Toyohara Chikanobu

The tea ceremony and flower arranging (Chanoyu kiribana), 1880's

Toyohara Chikanobu

The tea ceremony and flower arranging (Chanoyu kiribana), 1880's

Japanese, Japan Tokyo

Kimono design, no. 5 (Kimono no zu daigogo), ca. 1904

Ogata Gekkō

The first army advancing on Mukden (Daiichigun hotenfu shingeki no zu), 1894

Ogata Gekkō

The first army advancing on Mukden (Daiichigun hotenfu shingeki no zu), 1894

Ogata Gekkō

The first army advancing on Mukden (Daiichigun hotenfu shingeki no zu), 1894

More objects +

Exhibition Checklist

19th-Century Japanese Printmaking II

December 9, 1998 - March 7, 1999
View Checklist PDF

RISD Museum

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