![[Chinese man frightened by two toy figures of Japanese soldiers and a turtle hanging by strings] by Kobayashi Kiyochika — Japanese Woodblock print](https://data.ukiyo-e.org/loc/thumbs/00969v.jpg)
[Chinese man frightened by two toy figures of Japanese soldiers and a turtle hanging by strings]
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Source:
- Library of Congress
- Image courtesy of
- Library of Congress
A satirical ponchi-e (cartoon print) from Kiyochika's wartime series produced during the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895). The composition depicts a Chinese man recoiling from small toy effigies of Japanese soldiers suspended on strings alongside a turtle, a traditional symbol of longevity repurposed here for comic deflation. Kiyochika employs the visual vocabulary of popular illustrated journalism, using exaggerated facial expression and body language to convey mock terror. The hanging figures operate as props within a staged theatrical tableau, emphasizing the Japanese propagandistic message that China's military feared even symbolic representations of Japanese force. Printed in the oban format common to newspaper supplement prints, the composition uses flat areas of color with minimal bokashi shading, distinguishing it from Kiyochika's atmospheric landscape work. These ponchi-e circulated widely during the conflict as a form of illustrated political commentary.
Hebizukai
1932
Color woodblock print; oban
1935
Color woodblock print; oban
1964
Acrylic paint and oil pastel with oiled charcoal and ink over an ink and graphite underdrawing on paper
1964
Color lithograph with relief block and hand coloring; edition 35/36
[Chinese man frightened by two toy figures of Japanese soldiers and a turtle hanging by strings] was created by Kobayashi Kiyochika (小林清親).
[Chinese man frightened by two toy figures of Japanese soldiers and a turtle hanging by strings] depicts animals.
