Battle in Formosa. Meiji Era Japanese woodblock.
1895. A graphic and very striking triptych Meiji print depicting the Japanese attacking Formosa by an important Ukiyoe master, noted for his war prints emphasizing Japan's military strength and growing nationalism.
Formosa was a short lived republic which existed on the island of Taiwan in 1895 between the formal cession of Taiwan by the Qing Dynasty of China to the Empire of Japan by (Treaty of Shimonoseki) and its conquest by the Japanese. The Republic was proclaimed on 23 May 1895 and ended on 21 October, 1895.
Japanese troops, dressed in white, command a knoll at the left, and fire down at Formosan peasants who advance through the reeds at river's edge at the right. The scene is set against a mountainous background with a sky of pale peach and billowing clouds.
Title in Japanese printed at the top of the center panel; written in English on a tab at upper left, "Battle in Formosa".
Signed Kiyochika, with his chop and publisher seals at lower left. 27 3/4 x 14 1/2". Chipped at edges, with some loss, old tape marks. Good - condition. Item #24444
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