陸海軍人高名鑑 陸軍少将 大寺安純 (Army and Navy Personnel Takamakane Army Major General Otera Yasuzumi)

Form: Ukiyo-e, Mokuhan print

Published: 1895

Artist: 小林清親 (Kobayashi Kiyochika)

Notes: This is a traditional mokuhan print style Ukiyo-e made by Kobayashi Kiyochika, best known for his colour woodblock prints and newspaper illustrations. A man depicted in this Ukiyo-e was a general in the early Imperial Japanese Army, and the highest-ranking casualty on the Japanese side in the First Sino-Japanese War. Given his background as an army soldier, a large, long barrel resembling an army cannon is depicted behind him. Furthermore, between his feet are what appear to be wheels for transporting the cannon. He holds binoculars in his right hand and appears to be in a battle stance. The background of this painting is grey and resembles clouds, or perhaps the smoke emitted after firing a cannon. I found this ukiyo-e print interesting because the background colours are generally pale and blended. On the other hand, the colours of the man's clothes, hat, face, and beard are very vivid and perfectly capture his face.