Complete account of the chastisement at Kagoshima

Catalog note / 解説

This Japanese woodblock print is by Yoshitoshi and is dated Meiji 10, eighth month (equivalent to 1877). It is from a series entitled ‘Kagoshima Seito Zenki no Uchi’ (‘Complete account of the chastisement at Kagoshima’). Yoshitoshi produced these prints immediately after the events and mainly for the residents of Tokyo, who had a grudging respect for both sides in this conflict. With explosions in the background, troops are shown ferociously fighting to the death. They are armed with swords mounted in both traditional and western-style mountings, and wear traditional and western-style uniforms. Note the daggers (<i>tanto</i>) in the waist sashes of several of the combatants. This was the la…