Kiyochika: Ito Yaso (SOLD)

Artist: Kobayashi Kiyochika (1847-1915)
Title: Ito Yasu and Seppuku
Series: Kagoshima Newspaper: Biography of Personalities (Kagoshima Shimbun meimei-den)
Date: 1877

     Ito Yaso is about to commit seppuku, a ritual suicide, while his fellow former samurai quarrel in the other room regarding which side they should belong to in the fight.  He seems obviously torn. It must have been in summer because Kiyochika depicted a half hanging kaya, a mosquito net, at his back.  

     The text roughly informs: The battlefields were spread out to the Provinces of  Bun (present Fukuoka & Oita prefs.)-Hi (present Kumamoto & Saga prefs.)-Satsu (present Kagoshima pref.), and volunteers (police) from provinces were called up. Ito, a former samurai of Takada Clan in Echigo Province summoned his fellow former samurais and tried earnestly to persuade them that they had duties to serve the country. Finally they, to Ito’s great satisfaction, agreed. However when they reached the Kumagai Station !!!  some began to say that some wanted to join the rebels and some were determined to serve the country on the side of the imperial army. Ito was deeply disappointed though he did not harbor regret. He retreated to the other room, wrote his will, and committed seppuku. He devoted his loyalty in his own way.

This scarce series consists of special issues of the Kagoshima Newspaper, creating visual biographies of figures related to the Satsuma Rebellion (Sei-nan sensó) in 1877, the last domestic rebellion against the New Meiji Government, which took place in Kyúshú, in present Kagoshima, Kumamoto, and Miyazaki Prefectures.

Condition: Excellent impression, color and condition.
Dimensions: ôban
Publisher: Takegawa Kiyochikichi
Seal: Artist’s seals
Signature: Kiyochika

SKU: KYC426