Beisaku Taguchi, Prisoner Reveals The True State of The Enemy Army

Beisaku Taguchi

Beisaku Taguchi is an ukiyo-e artist who was active in the Meiji Period. Born in Tochigi, he learnt the basics of painting under Nakamura Banzan of the Shijo Maruyama school. When he was thirteen, he became an apprentice to Kiyochika Kobayashi (1847-1915), who was an ukiyo-e artist known for his newspaper illustrations and documentation of Japan's modernisation. Under Kiyochika's guidance, he produced many caricatures called Ponchi-e, debuting himself as a Japanese woodblock print artist. He became known for his artworks which depicted the Sino-Japanese War. Notable body of works include "Japanese Soldiers Attacking the Gate of Genbu in Pyongyang" and "The General Scouting in Heavy Snow".

Despite the government commissioning multiple propaganda images by Beisaku Taguchi, who produced dynamic depictions of the war, he became famous not propaganda images but for depictions of the sombre life of soldiers on the front line.

田口米作（たぐちべいさく）

田口米作は明治時代に活躍した版画家、浮世絵師です。栃木に生まれ、四条円山派の中村晩山の下で絵の基礎を学びます。13歳の時に浮世絵師の小林清親と出会い弟子入りを果たします。清親と共に、ポンチ絵と呼ばれる風刺画を数多く残し、その名を世に知らしめています。浮世絵師としては主に日清戦争を描いた錦絵を残しており、代表作には『平壌玄武門兵士先登之図』や『大雪ヲ冒シテ我将校単身敵地ヲ偵察之図』等があります。戦争絵は戦況を伝えプロパガンダのような役割がありましたが、米作の作品からは映画のワンカットのような雰囲気が感じられます。