Sino-Japanese War

The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 1894 - 17 April 1895), or the First China-Japan War, was a conflict between the Qing dynasty of China and the Empire of Japan primarily over influence in Korea. In Chinese it is commonly known as the Jiawu War. After more than six months of unbroken successes by Japanese land and naval forces and the loss of the ports of Lüshunkou (Port Arthur) and Weihaiwei, the Qing government sued for peace in February 1895 and signed the unequal Treaty of Shimonoseki two months later, ending the war. The woodblock prints depicting this war fall between the great masters Hiroshige and Hokusai and others at the end of the Tokugawa Period and those of the Shin hanga - new print period and thereby cast important light on the artistic development of woodblock printing in Meiji Japan and thus complement the authors ́ previous books. They are war prints, nishiki-e, a new and special category of ukiyo-e prints. The prints are also important documentation of this military conflict and of how the Japanese artists viewed it, how they presented it to the public. The prints are by a diverse number of artists with different styles. The authors hope the reader will enjoy the selection of artists and their works.