Funazaki Kojiro: Eboshi Rock in Kaiba Island (Now Moneron Island of the Sakhalin Oblast)

Artist: Ishizaki Shigetoshi 石崎重利 (1901-1999)
Title: Eboshi Rock in Kaiba Island (Now Moneron Island of the Sakhalin Oblast)  Date: 1940

Series: 100 Views of New Japan 新日本百景 (Shin Nihon Hyakkei)

A view that seems simple becomes more complex the more we learn about the location and its history. Our view is framed by stratified cave walls as we look out at the striking Eboshi (court cap-shaped) rock formation of  what was Kaiba Island (and is now Moneron Island) off of the coast of what was Karafuto but is now South Sakhalin. This island was under Japanese control from 1905-1945, but is now part of the Sakhalin Oblast (a federal subject of Russia). The Karafuto Prefecture was abolished by Japan as a legal entity on June 1, 1949. The indigenous Ainu people apparently had lived there for untold centuries, who called it Land of Sea Lions. It came under the daimyo of Matsumae clan in the 18th century. The history of these islands and their claims by various nations over the years is quite complex, as they have been claimed by China, Japan and Russia over the centuries. There was quite intense fighting over the Sakhalin Islands during WWII, and Moneron was considered of great strategic importance to both Japan and the USSR, and the outnumbered Japanese held on for longer than expected. Moneron has now become an island populated by Stellar sea lions instead of humans, as it is today a protected Russian marine nature park with zero permanent residents.

Thirty-three artists contributed to this planned series of one hundred works, all members of the Nihon Hanga Kyôkai (Japan Woodblock Print Association). The first work was produced in December of 1938, and the series was halted after publishing  thirty-nine works, in 1941. There were two artist/editors of the set: numbers 1-9 were by Fujimori Shizuo and Maekawa Senpan took over for numbers 10-39. According to the Art Gallery of New South Wales website, publication of this series was stopped by the Japanese authorities during WWII because they feared that the interior of Japan would become known to its enemies. This would not be surprising given the paranoia of wartime, but it is also probable that there were other factors, including limited supplies and artists conscripted into the war machine. The areas of “New Japan” in this series which are no longer part of today’s Japan make it an interesting artistic time capsule of the period in terms of Japan’s early 20th century expansion.

Condition: Excellent impression, color and condition. Never framed. The artist’s name has been written in pencil lower right margin, but it is not known if this was written by the artist himself.

Literature: See British Museum website (no photograph with entry)

 Dimensions: 33 x 25 cm

SKU: SNH019