Edutainment > War Prints by Kiyochika Kobayashi (1847-1915)

Kiyochika Kobayashi
From the Sino-Japanese war.

Biography of Kiyochika Kobayashi
Gyuso Sekichu Daigekisen no Zu - Scene of fierce battle at Newchang
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Kiyochika Kobayashi (1847-1915) is a leading artist of the Japanese Meiji period. His importance lies in his pioneer role for the modernization of the old Japanese woodblock print, called ukiyo-e. During the time of the Sino-Japanese war (1894/95) and the Russo-Japanese war (1904/05) Kiyochika Kobayashi designed prints with scenes from the war front. Under artistic aspects they are regarded as the best in this genre.

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Kiyochika Kobayashi (1847-1915)

Kiyochika Kobayashi
Braving the Bitter Cold. Our Troops Camp at Yingkow.

Japanese War Prints
Eiko Genkan Wagagun Choroei no Zu.
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When Kiyochika Kobayashi was a young man, the old order of the Japanese Edo period (1603-1868) under the rule of the Tokugawa clan had crumbled and was replaced by the Meiji era under the formal leadership of Emperor Meiji. During the Meiji period (1868-1912) Japan transformed itself at the speed of light from a medieval society into a modern, economic and military power shaped after Western models.

With the Westernization of Japan the traditional Japanese woodblock print ('ukiyo-e'), once the common printing technique for books. newspapers and other mass media, was replaced by photography. The Japanese ukiyo-e artists, woodblock carvers and printers lost more and more the basis of their economic existence.

In this difficult situation it was the merit of Kiyochika Kobayashi to pave the way for the renewal of the Japanese woodblock print from a cheap mass media to an expensive work of art.

Woodblock Prints from the Sino-Japanese war

Meiji Period
Scene of the Land-Based Battery Attack on Weihaiwei.
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The Sino-Japanese war from 1894 until 1895 was a land and sea war fought between Japan and China for the supremacy over Korea. The Treaty of Shimonosek of 1895 confirmed Japan as the overwhelming winner. China not only had to concede the supremacy over Korea to Japan, but had to pay a large indemnity and had lost Taiwan and the Liaotung peninsula to Japan.

For the traditional Japanese printmaking business, the Sino-Japanese war was the last great business. The war was supported and carried by a wave of nationalis among all Japanese social classes. At that time many Japanese, especially women, could not read. They had a lively interest in the latest news from the war front. This curiosity was met by picturesque woodblock prints telling the latest heroic actions of the Japanese army and navy.

Hardly any of the artists who designed such war prints, had ever been at the front. The scenes were the creations of pure imagination. But they sold well. And it was important to produce them fast. Those who came out first with the latest front news made the business.

Woodblock Prints from the Russo-Japanese war

Meiji Nationalism
Scene of Japanese Victory at Renchuanko (Russo-Japanese War).
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When the Russo-Japanese war began in 1904, the woodblock print publishers were again ready with latest pictorial news from the front. But the public was no longer much interested in woodblock prints. Authentic photographs from the front were now available. Therefore today collectors of Japanese prints find a large number of woodblock prints from the Sino-Japanese war, but the scenes from the Russo-Japanese war are rare.

War Prints Made by Kiyochika Kobayashi

Meiji Prints
Japanese Army General is asking two Chinese about the way they are heading for.
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Kiyochika Kobayashi designed prints for both wars. Kiyochika's war prints are an excellent example of the modern features that he as a pioneer of the modernization of the Japanese print had introduced. These are the depiction of the effects of light, often shown under extreme conditions like night scenes being lit by explosions.

Other "specialities" among Kiyochika's war prints were scenes in the rain and under extreme winter temperatures that the troops were faced in Manchuria. Kiyochika uses coloring and other artistic means to express moods.

Dieter Wanczura
(June 2009)

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