「日本万歳 百撰百笑」「おか支那兵士 骨皮道人」
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Source:
- Waseda University
- Image courtesy of
- Waseda University
Description
A variant impression of the 'Nihon Banzai! Hyakusen Hyakushō' sheet depicting fleeing Qing soldiers, issued under Kiyochika's satirical pen name Kokkepidōjin (骨皮道人). The existence of multiple surviving impressions of this sheet attests to the high commercial demand generated by the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–95) — popular broadsheets were reprinted in successive runs, sometimes with minor variations in color application, pigment selection, or [baren](/glossary/baren) pressure across the block surface. The composition presents Qing soldiers in comic disarray, their retreat from Japanese forces rendered with the simplified line work suited to mass-print satire. Variant impressions within this series offer evidence of the [nishiki-e](/glossary/nishiki-e) production process under conditions of rapid, volume-driven publication.