Great Victory of Our Forces at the Battle of Pyongyang (Heijo gekisen waga gun taisho no zu) 1894

This print, Great Victory of Our Forces at the Battle of Pyongyang, was made by Yosai Nobukazu. It's a woodblock print, a medium with a long history in Japan, which found new purpose in the Meiji era as a vehicle for mass communication and nationalistic sentiment. You can see that in the clean lines and flat planes of color, which were carved into the woodblock and then printed onto paper. This was a commercial technique, involving the division of labor, with designers, carvers, and printers all contributing to the final product. The material qualities of the print—its flatness and precise lines—lend a sense of clarity and order to the battle scene. But this order is, of course, a carefully constructed illusion. It’s a glorification of war, made possible by the industrialized processes of printmaking. So, next time you encounter a work like this, consider not just what it depicts, but also how its very creation is tied to the social and political forces of its time. By doing so, we gain a richer understanding of its meaning and impact.