Object number2008.19.21

Naval Commander Hirose Takeo

Date1904

Artist Kobayashi Kiyochika (Japanese, 1847-1915)

Publisher Matsuki Heikichi

CultureJapanese

MediumWoodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper

DimensionsSheet: 14 3/16 x 9 1/16 in. (36 x 23 cm)
Composition: 14 3/16 x 27 11/16 in. (36 x 70.3 cm)

Credit LineGift of Frances Beatty Adler, class of 1970, and Allen Adler

Period20th c (Meiji period)

Classification(s)

SignedSigned: Kiyochika; (sealed: Kobayashi Kiyochika)

Vassar Exhibitions

Bunmei Kaika: Political Landscape in Early Modern and Modern Japan

Label TextDuring the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905), Russia and Japan fought a war over China and the Korean peninsula. Depictions of the Port Arthur Campaign, which began the war, provided consumers with elaborate and dramatic compositions, while also serving as propagandic news media. These prints honor heroic feats of the Imperial Japanese Navy, while reflecting Japan’s view of Russia as it attempted to position itself in conversation with other imperial powers. Each report was well circulated through Japanese and, at times, English media outlets. Kobayashi Kiyochika’s Naval Commander Hirose Takeo heroically poses his subjects on his sinking ship. Kiyochika chose to show Hirose during one of three visits he made to the sinking ship to save Chief Warrant Officer Sugino, rather than on the lifeboat that was hit by a Russian shell, taking his life.

Terms

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email loebcollections@vassar.edu