Form: Mokuhan print
Published: 1937/ September
Artist: 川瀬巴水 (Kawase Hasui)
Printed by: 渡邊庄三郎 (Watanabe Shōzaburō)
Notes: Japanese troops march across a desolate plain against a blood-red sunset. This is one of four war-themed works Hasui designed based on a photograph of the Imperial Japanese Army on the Manchurian front published in the magazine Asahi Graph. This woodblock print is characterised by the fact that only the sunset and the sky in the background are beautifully depicted. However, considering the position of the sun as the light source and the viewer's perspective, it is natural for the people to appear as shadows. Completely filling in the shadows with black is an effective way to express this in a woodblock print based on a photograph. Hasui was one of those who opposed the war. Considering this background, the fact that the weeds along the road appear to be withered and the expressions of the people and horses are unclear, seems to reflect Hasui's thoughts on the war. The gradation of the sky is so delicate that it is hard to believe it is a woodblock print. The boundaries between colours are blurred, as if painted with paint or coloured pencils, demonstrating the high level of skill of Hasui and Shōzaburō.
