Civil and Military Officers

December 1877

Not on view

Looming in the central panel in Japanese dress is Saigo Takamori (1827–1877), the popular hero and influential samurai from Satsuma in Southern Kyushu. His daughter Ayako appears in the left panel. Immediately following the Meiji Restoration in 1868, there was much discontentment, particularly among the samurai who had lost all of their earlier prestige and privileges. Many Satsuma samurai far to the west were among the most reactionary, and when swords were prohibited in January 1877, their hatred of the government came to a head. The famous Satsuma Rebellion broke out in early 1877 under Saigo's leadership and lasted six months, with the fighting confined to Satsuma, itself. Saigo was wounded and at his own request, decapitated on the battlefield. His 40,000 samurai, traditionally the country's military elite had been defeated by an equal number of soldiers drafted into the newly-formed conscript army.

Artwork Details

Object Information

Overview

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Provenance

Title: Civil and Military Officers
Artist: Toshimasa (Japanese, active 19th century)
Period: Meiji period (1868–1912)
Date: December 1877
Culture: Japan
Medium: Triptych of woodblock prints; ink and color on paper
Dimensions: Oban; each panel: 13 3/8 x 9 1/4 in. (34 x 23.5 cm)
Classification: Prints
Credit Line: Gift of Lincoln Kirstein, 1959
Object Number: JP3254a–c
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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