CHIKANOBU TOYOHARA (1838–1912)
VICTOIRE A ASAN
Beautiful triptych in very fresh colors formerly mounted on tabsObanNishiki-e1894 "At 3 am on July 29 a battle commenced and after five hours our troops were completely victorious" begins the text panel account of this print. Chikanobu depicts two officers leading the assault with the nation's flag held high. A Chinese canon in the foreground is turned around with its barrel down and its carriage broken. The Chinese soldiers in this print are dressed in cumbersome archaic uniforms, making them seem helpless against the Japanese troops smartly dressed in modern European style uniforms.The Battle of Seonghwan (Seikan) was the first major land confrontation of the First Sino-Japanese War. It took place on July 29, 1894 in Seonghwan, near Cheonan, in the Korean province of South Chungcheong. It is sometimes called Battle of Asan...
300.00 €
KAGOSHIMA BENTO HIKIAGE NO ZU, SAIGO TAKAMORI, KIRINO TOSHIAKI
Beautiful triptych with fresh colors, representing the defeat of the famous Saigo Takamori, considered as the last samurai, during the rebellion of Kagoshima (Satsuma)"Born into a family of humble Satsuma officers, Saigō Takamori nonetheless enjoyed rapid promotion and was given special assignments by his daimyō to work for the entry of daimyōs into the shōgunal government. While in Kyoto, in 1858, during the repression organized by the bakufu in the imperial capital, he fled to his stronghold, then, involved in the dynastic quarrels of the seigneurial family, he lived in disgrace, most of the time, until 1864. He He then made himself the man of negotiations and narrowly succeeded in averting the first civil war between the bakufu and Chōshū, he commanded a detachment of the Imperial Guard and, against his will, was brought in to repel the companies of Chōshū who were attacking Kyoto. It was later that he was gradually convinced of the need to overthrow the shōgunate. He met Kido Takayoshi in 1866 and gradually realized the rapprochement between Satsuma and Chōshū, until the bakufu's second campaign against Chōshū, in 1867.One of the architects of the coup d'etat of January 3, 1868 by which the imperial court proclaimed the "return to the old monarchy", he commanded the army which conquered the main domains of the shōgun, between Kyoto and the Kantō, and secured Edo's unconditional surrender. However, convinced that it was necessary to mobilize the traditional forces, he shunned for a while the new regime which was moving towards modernization. He nevertheless agreed to enter the Executive Council in 1870, and offered the assistance of his army to make the abolition of the fiefs effective. When Kido Takayoshi and Ōkubo Toshimichi left Japan with Iwakura Tomomi's embassy, he remained in the Tokyo government. In order to bring together the bushi dissatisfied with the reorganization of the army, he planned to force Korea to open up, aware that his approach would probably end in war. Prevented by Ōkubo, returning from Europe, in 1873, he resigned from the government and returned to his old stronghold. There, he opened a school for young people and formed an army: Satsuma then became a de facto autonomous enclave. Ōkubo, impatient with this dissent, provoked war and had Satsuma occupied by the modern army, in 1877. Knowing the inevitable defeat, Saigō Takamori committed suicide. A character full of paradoxes, he was both one of the main founders of the Meiji regime and the greatest rebel that the renovated monarchy has known: he remains one of the most popular figures in Japan.in: Universalis Encyclopedia..
450.00 €
DEBAT DU SEIKANRON DE 1873
Beautiful triptych in very fresh colors formerly mounted on tabsObanNishiki-e1877This 1877 print depicts the 1873 Seikanron debates in the Court Council of the Meiji government on whether to invade Korea for ignoring the diplomatic missions of the Meiji government and "insulting" the Japanese nation.The leaders of the opposing factions, Iwakura and Saigō, are at the center of the triptych, surrounded by their followers.Seventeen red rectangular cartouches give the names of the characters taking part in the debate, all members of the Council of the Court (or Council of State).Among them :-Shinohara Kunimoto (left side, seated foreground) a longtime friend of Saigō Takamori and former major general and commander of the Imperial Guards who resigned after Saigō left the Imperial government.-Saigō Takamori (middle part, middle three-quarter face and bearded) hero of the battles that ended the Tokugawa shogunate in 1868, inaugurating the Meiji government that made Japan a modern nation. Court advisor and leader of the Seikanron faction pleading to send one last diplomatic mission, led by himself, to Korea before launching an invasion. Saigō knew the mission would fail, with its failure serving as the final justification for the Japanese invasion.-Kirino Toshiaki (middle part, back and right of Takamori) brigadier general during the early years of the Imperial Japanese Army, he joined Takamori Saigō's forces during the Satsuma Rebellion, participating in the march north to Kumamoto . Kirino stayed with Saigō until the end, where he was finally killed on the battlefield.-Iwakura Tomomi 岩倉具視 - (middle part, standing upper right) Right-wing minister who led the "Iwakura Mission", a two-year trip to visit European countries and the United States, renegotiate "unequal treaties" and gather information for the modernization of Japan. Major player in defeating Saigō's plan and preventing the invasion of Korea.-Okubo Toshimichi 大久保利通 - (right part, bearded, seated in the foreground) member of the "Iwakura mission" who sided with Iwakura against Saigō. As Minister of the Interior he suppressed the regional rebellions of the old class of samurai which ended with the rebellion of Satsuma. He was assassinated by a former samurai in 1878.-Sanjo Sanetomi (right part, seated in the foreground) imperial envoy. He sided with Iwakura in the debate against Saigō. He assumed the position of dajo daijin (Grand Minister of State) in 1871.The Seikanron Debate literally: “Conquest of Korea Debate” was an important political debate that took place in Japan in 1873.Takamori Saigō and his followers insisted that Japan confront Korea because of the latter's refusal to recognize the legitimacy of Emperor Meiji as head of state of the Empire of Japan and for having insulted and expelled the Japanese representatives sent to establish commercial and diplomatic relations. The option of war against Korea was also an ideal opportunity to occupy the thousands of idle samurai who had lost m..
450.00 €
BATAILLE DE SEONGHWAN
Beautiful triptych in very fresh colors formerly mounted on tabsObanNishiki-e1894The Battle of Seonghwan (Seikan) was the first major land confrontation of the First Sino-Japanese War. It took place on July 29, 1894 in Seonghwan, near Cheonan, in the Korean province of South Chungcheong. It is sometimes called Battle of Asan...
300.00 €
