Kagoshima Sensō Kiji (Record of the Kagoshima War)
Heroic war print with Saigō Takamori (西郷 隆盛) beneath a full moon

A dynamic Meiji kassen-e (battle print) by Yamazaki Toshinobu, depicting the rebel leader Saigō Takamori (西郷 隆盛) standing resolute against a moonlit sky, powder-smoke billowing behind him and fallen troops at his feet. Issued at the height of public fascination with the Satsuma Rebellion (1877), the sheet pairs theatrical color—deep indigo uniform, vermilion accents—with documentary captions that frame the scene as a “Kagoshima War record.” The cartouche identifies Saigō (西郷); this composition has become an emblem of Meiji hero-portraiture. In Tokyo's Ueno park stands a very prominent and famous bronze statue of Saigo Takamori. 

Yamazaki Toshinobu 山崎年信 (also recorded under the surname Saitō; given name Tokusaburō) was born in Edo in 1857 to a modest greengrocer’s family. At thirteen he entered the studio of Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, and by his early twenties he was producing reportage prints—about thirty designs on the Satsuma Rebellion (1877). In 1878 he drew nishiki-e shinbun for the Chōya shinbun newspaper. Toshinobu later moved to Osaka, illustrating popular fiction (notably for the novelist Udagawa Bunkai), while also contributing to newspapers and continuing woodblock work. A bout of heavy drinking disrupted his output around 1880 and strained his friendship with Bunkai, a rift later mended through the writer Kanagaki Robun. In 1885 or 1886 he relocated to Kyoto as a newspaper illustrator, fell ill with pneumonia followed by meningitis, and died there in September of that year.

Details

• Artist: Yamazaki Toshinobu 山崎年信 (1857–1885)

• Title/Series: Kagoshima Sensō Kiji 鹿児嶋戦争記事 (Record of the Kagoshima War)

• Subject: Saigō Takamori (西郷 隆盛)

• Date: c. 1877 (Meiji 10)

• Medium: Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

• Format/Size: ōban tate-e, approx. 14 × 9½ in. (36 × 24 cm)

• Signature/Seals: Signed 年信画 (Toshinobu ga); red artist seal at lower right (as issued)

• Condition: Good—rich color; light toning and minor edge wear; small top-edge trim; image area clean and strong

• Notes: Classic Meiji nocturne with full moon, dramatic smoke plumes, offshore naval silhouette; a visually cinematic wall piece

Item Label

Kagoshima Sensō Kiji (Record of the Kagoshima War)
Yamazaki Toshinobu 山崎年信, Japan, c. 1877
Woodblock print; ōban tate-e — ink and color on paper
Approx. 14 × 9½ in. (36 × 24 cm)

Heroic war portrait of Saigō Takamori (西郷 隆盛) from Toshinobu’s reportage on the Satsuma Rebellion. The moon, billowing smoke, and fallen soldiers typify Meiji battle prints (kassen-e) that blended news and spectacle.