Propaganda from the Russo-Japanese War

Russian soldiers frozen to the core and melting before the power of the Japanese army, a Japanese sailor splitting a Russian torpedo boat in half with an axe, Soviet soldiers terrified by figurines of Japanese soldiers dangling from strings… In this series of 86 prints, Kobayashi Kiyochika represents Japanese visual propaganda from the Russo-Japanese war that lasted from 1904 until 1905. 

Initially a ukiyo-e artist specialising in landscapes, Kobayashi Kiyochika (1847-1915) later embarked on a career as a political and military caricaturist for the satirical newspaper Marumaru Chinbun. Often caught up in lawsuits due to his anti-government stance, his move towards propaganda posed a challenge. When the war ended, he hung up his propagandist’s paintbrush to return to his first love, painting landscapes—the precious witnesses to Japan’s increasing and rapid modernisation.

Mocking the enemy’s weaknesses

These prints sought to demonstrate to the Japanese people, and indeed to the world, the superiority of the army and the imperial regime over the Russian forces. Tsar Nicolas II’s soldiers are mocked, their military weakness accentuated, their vanity and supposed cowardice exposed. All this was done with one aim: to increase the population’s support of the war effort and of Japanese nationalism. 

The Russo-Japanese war also marked the progressive decline of classical propaganda art. Thus, the early 20th century saw the emergence of a growing profession: press photography.

Kobayashi Kiyochika’s work can be viewed on the British Museum website.