01 Work, The Art of War, Migita Toshihide's The Fall of Pyongyang, from a series on the Sino-Japanese War, with footnotes

Migita Toshihide (Japanese, 1863–1925)

The Fall of Pyongyang, from a series on the Sino-Japanese War, c. 1894

Set of six woodblock prints; ink and color on paper

 Image (each): 13 1/2 × 9 1/8 in. (34.3 × 23.2 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Amid the smoke of battle, Japanese troops encircle panicked Chinese soldiers in this panoramic view of the conquest of the Korean city of Pyongyang during the first Sino-Japanese War (1894–95). This propagandistic image, aimed at a domestic Japanese audience and saturated with racist overtones, draws a contrast between the Japanese participants’ modern, Western-style uniforms and the traditional attire of the Chinese fighters. In one passage, a Japanese soldier grabs a Chinese counterpart by his braid while raising a sword in his other hand. Countless Korean civilians and tens of thousands of Chinese and Japanese troops lost their lives in the war. More on this painting

Toshihide Migita was born in 1863 in Oita-ken, Shizuoka Province. At the age of 17, he delved into Western-style painting and became a pupil of the esteemed Meiji woodblock artist Yoshitoshi (Taiso) Tsukioka.

Toshihide Migita was prolific both as a painter and a woodblock printmaker, specializing in traditional ukiyo-e style. He gained prominence for his extensive collection of war prints depicting the Sino-Japanese and Russo-Japanese wars. His war prints, mostly triptychs, are considered among the finest in this genre, paralleling the quality of Kiyochika Kobayashi (1847-1915).

His repertoire extended to actor prints and a limited series of images of beautiful women. Engaging in woodblock printmaking during the late Meiji period, Migita also contributed to kuchi-e illustrations. Additionally, he served as a mentor to numerous Taisho and Showa era artists, including Terukata Gyokudo (Ikeda) (1883-1921), Shoen Ikeda (1886-1917), Kiyokata Kaburagi (1878-1972), and Eiho Hirezaki (1881-1968).

Toshihide Migita passed away in 1925. More on Toshihide Migita

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