「日本万歳 百撰百笑」「御注進御注進 骨皮道人」
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Source:
- Waseda University
- Image courtesy of
- Waseda University
Description
'Report! Report!' depicts a figure — likely a Chinese messenger or aide — in frantic motion delivering news of battlefield defeats. The doubled phrase 御注進御注進 conveys urgency bordering on panic, and Kiyochika likely rendered this as a caricatured running figure, mouth open, arms gesticulating, the repetition of the phrase mirrored in the exaggerated physical expression. Published under Honekawa Dōjin in the Nippon Banzai: Hyakusen Hyakushō series during the First Sino-Japanese War, the print satirizes the disorganization and shock of Chinese military communications in the face of Japanese advances. Two sheets in the Hanga collection share this title, suggesting Kiyochika issued multiple versions — possibly timed to different battles where Chinese commanders received unexpected reports of defeat. The bold caricature style of the series, with its emphatic outlines and flat printed colors, suited rapid topical publishing.