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Our Troops Landing in Taiwan in the Dead of Night (Wagagun shinya Taiwan jôriku no zu) by Kobayashi Kiyochika — Japanese Woodblock print

Our Troops Landing in Taiwan in the Dead of Night (Wagagun shinya Taiwan jôriku no zu)

by Kobayashi Kiyochika

Meiji/Taishō Prints
Night Scenes
Medium:
Woodblock print
Image courtesy of
Museum of Fine Arts Boston

Description

The title—Wagagun shinya Taiwan jôriku no zu, 'A picture of our troops landing on Taiwan in the dead of night'—identifies this as one of Kiyochika's most atmospherically appropriate war subjects. The Japanese military landed on Taiwan in May 1895 following the Treaty of Shimonoseki, which transferred the island from Qing to Japanese sovereignty. A nocturnal amphibious landing provided Kiyochika with exactly the conditions his kosen-ga approach was developed to address: darkness punctuated by lanterns, torchlight, and the pale shimmer of moonlight on water. Soldiers wade ashore or disembark from small boats, their figures rendered as dark silhouettes against luminous water. The composition uses the shoreline as a horizontal axis dividing the darkness of land from the reflective surface of the sea.

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The great victory of our Naval forces near Phung-to in Korea by Kobayashi Kiyochika

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More Night Scenes Prints

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Evening in East Africa

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Evening Shower at Teradomari (Teradomari no yau), from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, Second Series (Tabi miyage dai nishu)"

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1921

Color woodblock print; oban

Mount Fuji on a Moonlit Night, Kawai Bridge (Tsukiyo no Fuji [Kawaibashi]), from the series "Selection of Views of the Tokaido (Tokaido fukei senshu)" by Kawase Hasui

Mount Fuji on a Moonlit Night, Kawai Bridge (Tsukiyo no Fuji [Kawaibashi]), from the series "Selection of Views of the Tokaido (Tokaido fukei senshu)"

1947

Color woodblock print; oban

Evening Moon at Nakanoshima, Sapporo (Sapporo Nakanoshima no yuzuki), from the series "Collection of Views of Japan, Eastern Japan Edition (Nihon fukei shu higashi Nihon hen)" by Kawase Hasui

Evening Moon at Nakanoshima, Sapporo (Sapporo Nakanoshima no yuzuki), from the series "Collection of Views of Japan, Eastern Japan Edition (Nihon fukei shu higashi Nihon hen)"

March 1933

Color woodblock print; oban

Frequently Asked Questions

Our Troops Landing in Taiwan in the Dead of Night (Wagagun shinya Taiwan jôriku no zu) was created by Kobayashi Kiyochika (小林清親).

Our Troops Landing in Taiwan in the Dead of Night (Wagagun shinya Taiwan jôriku no zu) depicts night scenes.