Massacres In Manchuria: Sino-Japanese War Prints 1894-1895

The first Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 was Japan’s first modern war, and their first military action overseas for over 300 years. One notable result of this conflict was a huge burst in popularity for senso-e (war pictures’), a genre of ukiyo-e which first evolved as a contemporary mutation of musha-e (‘warrior pictures’). The triptych, with its almost cinematic visual scope, was the preferred format for depicting such scenes of turmoil and carnage. Whilst quality ranges between artists, the very best senso-e remain amongst the finest in all of ukiyo-e.