Notes on Sketch 101, dated January 1915: Italy Sits on the Fence at Horagatōge

In Itō's sketch, Italy, which was neutral at the time of this sketch, looks down on the armies of the Central Powers, Germany (獨) and Austria (墺) on the right, and the Allied Powers, France (佛) and Russia (露) on the left, trying to determine which side will prevail. The Japanese place name Horagatōge is famously associated with the legend of warlord Tsutsui Junkei, who during the 1582 Battle of Yamazaki between Akechi Mitsuhide and Toyotomi (Hashiba) Hideyoshi allegedly advanced as far as Horagatōge but refrained from joining either side until he could determine the victor. In a similar spirit of strategic hesitation, Italy would wait to see how the tide of battle turned before ultimately joining the Allied Powers on May 23, 1915.

Notes on Sketch 102, dated February 1915: German Warship Commits Tsujigiri in the North Sea

In Itō’s sketch, a masked figure, resembling a ninja, emerges from a dark forest to "test his sword" on an unsuspecting traveler. The victim’s lantern lies shattered and aflame on the ground. This imagery evokes the practice of tsujigiri (辻斬), a notorious and rare early Edo-period phenomenon in which samurai would test a newly forged sword by ambushing and cutting down passersby.

Itō uses this motif to critique the sudden and lethal nature of Germany’s submarine warfare policy. On February 4, 1915, the German Admiralty issued a public warning that Allied merchant ships in the waters surrounding the British Isles, including parts of the North Sea, would be sunk without warning. This policy of unrestricted submarine warfare officially took effect on February 18.

That same day, the French merchant steamer Dinorah was torpedoed and badly damaged by the German submarine U-16, though it did not sink. The most notorious act under this policy came several months later, on May 7, 1915, when U-20 sank the British ocean liner Lusitania, en route from New York to Liverpool, killing over 1,100 civilians. (See Sketch 108.)

References:

Sir Archibald Hurd, The Merchant Navy in the First World War, vol. 1, History of the Great War (London: John Murray, 1921), subsection "Organisation of Patrols," Naval-History.net, https://www.naval-history.net/WW1Book-MN1b-Merchant_Navy_in_WW1_Hurd.htm.

Translation of Terao Tōru's commentary and notes on Sketch 103, dated March 1915: Japan-China Negotiations, Part I

Hurrying to
Force through a final agreement
Only to be mocked.

A picture of the Sino-Japanese negotiations of Taishō 4 (1915)
with a playful inscription by Kien.

On January 18, 1915, Japan presented the Twenty-One Demands to China, seeking sweeping economic and territorial concessions, including control in Shandong, Manchuria, and influence over Chinese police and finance.

Negotiations began on February 2 and spanned 25 sessions, as Japan reinforced its position with 30,000 troops in occupied areas. China, diplomatically and militarily weak, reluctantly accepted most demands but resisted the most intrusive ones, known as "Group V," which would have placed Japanese advisors inside key government functions. Under international pressure, especially from Britain and the U.S., Japan withdrew the most aggressive group of demands.

Both Itō and Terao mock the Chinese negotiators as theatrically haggling over minor points in an effort to delay the talks, hoping that international protests, sparked by terms they quietly leaked, would strengthen their position. The figures caricatured in Itō's sketch are likely Hioki Eki, Japan’s Minister to China and chief negotiator, and his counterpart, Lou Tseng‑Tsiang, China’s Foreign Minister. (See Sketches 107 and 109 below.)

Translation of Nagase Hōsuke's commentary and notes on Sketch 104, dated March 1915: Dardanelles Forts Destroyed

Nagase, writing under the pen name Hōchōyō, invokes the brutal law of the jungle in his comment:

“The weak are meat for the strong.”

In early 1915, the Allies saw control of the Dardanelles as a strategic key to opening a supply route to Russia, knocking the Ottoman Empire out of the war, and breaking the stalemate on the Western Front. The Allies launched a naval assault in March 1915, damaging several key Ottoman forts. However, the attack failed to force passage through the straits.

Itō Chūta’s sketch portrays a figure, symbolizing the Ottomans, fleeing in terror from a ferocious lion, representing the overwhelming might of the Allied naval forces. Yet despite initial damage inflicted on Ottoman defenses, the Allied campaign stalled. The subsequent land invasion at Gallipoli in northwestern Turkey also failed, and Allied forces withdrew by early 1916.

The Dardanelles would remain under Ottoman control until the signing of the Armistice of Mudros in late October 1918, after which Allied forces entered the straits, marking the end of Ottoman hostilities in the war.

Notes on Sketch 105, dated March 1915: German Cruiser Dresden Attacked by British Ships in South America

In Itō's sketch, the Dresden is transformed into a dragon-like monster, pierced through the throat with an arrow and writhing in its death throes. Its contorted, twisting form evokes the palmette arabesques that Itō so admired. 

By March 1915, the German cruiser SMS Dresden, the sole survivor of the German East Asia Squadron after the 1914 Battle of the Falklands (see Sketch 95, "The Massacre at the Battle of the Falklands"), was low on coal, ammunition, and supplies. Seeking refuge near Chile’s Más a Tierra Island (now Robinson Crusoe Island), she sent a coded message for assistance that was intercepted and decoded by the British. HMS Glasgow, HMS Kent, and the armed merchant cruiser Orama were dispatched to intercept her. On March 14, 1915, surrounded and unable to resist, the Dresden’s crew detonated her remaining ammunition, scuttled the ship to avoid its capture, and surrendered.

References:

Kurakata Shunsuke 倉方俊輔, commentary on Itō Chūta’s sketch “105,” in Itō Chūta 伊東忠太 and Sugimura Kōtarō 杉村廣太郎, 阿修羅帖 [Ashura-chō], 5 vols. (Tokyo: Yumani Shobō ゆまに書房, 2013), vol. 2. 

"SMS Dresden," MaSS: Maritime Stepping Stones, Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands,  https://mass.cultureelerfgoed.nl/sms-dresden.

Translation of Adachi Kenzō's commentary and notes on Sketch 106, dated March 25, 1915: General Election for the House of Representatives

The remnants of a fleeting dream

Shining white moon, and the wind lies still 

— Kanjōsei 

The March 25, 1915 general election followed Prime Minister Ōkuma Shigenobu’s December 25, 1914 dissolution of the House of Representatives, the Diet's lower house, after its rejection of his military expansion program. (See Sketch 100.) The campaign was chaotic, and marked by scandals and bribery. The Rikken Dōshikai (立憲同志会, Constitutional Association of Allies), which supported the Ōkuma cabinet, emerged as the largest party in the House. Itō Chūta's sketch satirizes the election as a monstrous brawl.

Notes on Sketch 107, dated April 1915: Japan-China Negotiations, Part II

In Itō Chūta’s sketch, part two of a satirical triptych on the negotiations surrounding Japan’s Twenty-One Demands, the Japanese figure is shown aggressively unsheathing his sword, while the Chinese figure raises his hands defensively. The scene dramatizes Japan’s escalating pressure on China and suggests that Tokyo was on the verge of using military force to compel Chinese compliance.

Beginning with negotiation session 16 on April 2, 1915, Japan pressed China to begin formal discussions of Group V, the most controversial section of the Twenty-One Demands. This group of demands proposed placing Japanese advisers in key ministries, establishing joint policing arrangements, and giving Japan influence over China’s arms purchases. China viewed these measures as severe violations of sovereignty and refused substantive engagement. While Japan insisted on at least partial acceptance, China would concede only a limited compromise: allowing Japanese police advisers (not supervisors) in South Manchuria. The session ended in stalemate, with Japan growing increasingly impatient.

At session 23 on April 26, Japan presented a "final revised proposal," dropping the most egregious clauses from Group V but demanding immediate acceptance of the remaining terms. Under mounting diplomatic and military pressure, President Yuan Shikai capitulated on May 9, 1915.*

This drawing is the middle panel in Itō’s sequence depicting the deterioration of the talks. For the accompanying sketches, see Sketch 103 (verbal confrontation) and Sketch 109 (capitulation).

* For the text of the "Official statement by the Chinese Government respecting the Chino-Japanese negotiations brought to a conclusion by China’s compliance with the terms of Japan’s ultimatum delivered on May 7, 1915," go to https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1915/d154 

Translation of Toki Zenmaro's commentary and notes on Sketch 108, dated May 1915: German Submarine Assassinates (Sinks) British Ship Lusitania

Soft, plump breasts, the fleshy limbs stretching from shoulders to arms, disheveled black hair, eyebrows, eyes, lips....... A man who can thrust a blade into the lustrous skin of such a beautiful woman must be either an old-fashioned hero or a modern-day "debakame" (pervert).

War is a type of sexual perversion.

— Toki Zenmaro

The Library of Congress summarizes the sinking of the Lusitania and the divided public response it provoked as follows: "On May 7, 1915, the German submarine U-20 torpedoed and sank the Lusitania, a swift-moving British cruise liner traveling from New York to Liverpool, England. Of the 1,959 men, women, and children on board, 1,195 perished, including 123 Americans. A headline in the New York Times the following day, 'Divergent Views of the Sinking of the Lusitania,' sums up the initial public response to the disaster. Some saw it as a blatant act of evil and transgression against the conventions of war. Others understood that Germany previously had unambiguously alerted all neutral passengers of Atlantic vessels to the potential for submarine attacks on British ships and that Germany considered the Lusitania a British, and therefore an 'enemy ship.'"

The Japanese press responded with near-universal condemnation of the Lusitania’s sinking as typified by the following excerpts carried in the May 22, 1915 issue of the Japan Daily Mail:

The inhuman outrages of the Germans that culminated in the sinking of the Lusitania cause the usually quiet Yomiuri to ask in great anger whether no punishment will ever be meted out to the savage Teutons.

Jiji condemns the German acts of savagery, culminating in the sinking of the Lusitania, as the blackest record in the history of nations. 

[The Hochi writes], Germany is ignoring international usages and treaties. Everything has to be sacrificed before necessity an the Germans have been indulging in lawless acts on the strength of that principal.

These reactions illustrate Japan’s growing alignment with Anglo-American legal norms and its moral positioning as a member of the Allied coalition.

References:

"The Lusitania Disaster," Newspaper Pictorials: World War I Rotogravures, 1914–1919, Library of Congress Digital Collections, https://www.loc.gov/collections/world-war-i-.

"Germany is Condemned As An Outlaw," The Japan Daily Mail: Weekly Edition May 22, 1915, vol. LXIII, no. 21, p. 389 and p. 392.

Notes on Sketch 109, dated May 1915: Japan-China Negotiations, Part III

On May 7, with negotiations near collapse, Japan issued a final ultimatum to China demanding acceptance of the Twenty-One Demands originally presented on January 18, 1915. Although the ultimatum carried the threat of force, Japan had effectively withdrawn the most onerous demands from Group V in response to pressure from the United States and Britain. With both powers urging compromise, China accepted Japan’s demands on May 9. 

This is the final image in Itō Chūta’s three-part set of satirical sketches on the negotiations over Japan’s Twenty-One Demands. Unlike the previous sketch (Sketch 107), which portrayed Japan on the verge of violence, this composition suggests a moment of uneasy calm. China appears submissive, clutching the written agreement with a forced smile, while Japan, whose expression had taken on a demonic edge in earlier depictions, now resumes a composed, gentlemanly façade.

Yet the apparent civility masks the deep damage done. The concessions extracted from China, territorial, economic, and administrative, were achieved under the threat of military force. Japan, emboldened by this apparent diplomatic success, grew increasingly convinced that coercive diplomacy was effective, a belief that would contribute to its future international isolation. For China, the humiliation of May 9, 1915, the day Yuan Shikai accepted Japan’s ultimatum, became etched into the national consciousness as the "National Humiliation Day" (國恥日), galvanizing anti-Japanese sentiment and modern Chinese nationalism.

Translation of Arturo Ferrarin's commentary and notes on Sketch 110, dated May 1915: Italy Rises

We waited and died,

for progress and liberty we lived,

(the) barbarous oppressor...

— Arturo Ferrarin

The inscription by aviator Arturo Ferrarin, paired with Itō Chūta’s sketch, celebrates Italy’s entry into World War I on May 23, 1915, ending its period of neutrality. Referencing an earlier piece, Sketch 101: "Italy Sits on the Fence at Horagatōge," this newer illustration depicts Italy still at Horagatōge (洞ヶ峠), but now poised to strike Austria-Hungary (墺), which it did on May 24, advancing into Austro-Hungarian territory, testing its defenses, and occupying several frontier towns.

Italy, though a member of the Triple Alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungary, had remained neutral at the war’s outbreak in 1914. Following secret negotiations with the Allied Powers, Italy signed the Treaty of London on April 26, 1915, securing promises of territorial expansion in exchange for its allegiance. Notably, Italy did not declare war on Germany until August 27, 1916.

While Itō created his sketches as World War I events unfolded, the accompanying commentaries were compiled for the postwar 1920–21 publication of the five-volume Ashura-chō set. Ferrarin’s commentary was almost certainly added after his first-place finish in the 11,000-mile "Rome–Tokyo Raid," completed on May 31, 1920. This aviation achievement, largely envisioned by his poet friends Gabriele D’Annunzio and Harukichi Shimoi, was intended to "promote and celebrate the name of Italy in that far-off country and bring prestige to the numerous Italians who lived there."

References:

Moreno Aguiari, “100th Anniversary of the Epic Rome–Tokyo Flight,” Vintage Aviation News, June 2, 2020, https://vintageaviationnews.com/warbird-articles/100th-anniversary-of-the-epic-rome-tokyo-flight.html.

Notes on Sketch 111, dated June 3, 1915: Austro-German Forces Recapture Przemyśl

Army General Nara Takeji describes the Austro-German recapture of Przemyśl as a "jewel regained" in his commentary accompanying Itō’s sketch, which portrays an Austro-German (墺獨) demon snatching the prized fortress city of Przemyśl (ブルゼミスル) from a collapsing Russia (露). 

The New York Times

FRIDAY, JUNE 4, 1915

PRZEMYSL FALLS IN NIGHT ATTACK

Germans Enter the Fortress at 3:30 A.M., Having Stormed the Northern Forts.

SIEGE OF TWENTY DAYS

Assailants Expended Vast Stores of Ammunition -- Russians Report the "Last Shell Spent."

LONDON, June 3.-Przemysl fell at 3:30 this morning, and the Austro-German armies thus achieved the main object of the great thrust which they began against the Russian lines in Western Galicia just a month ago today.  

References:

Excerpt from "Przemysl Falls In Night Attack," New York Times, June 4, 1915, p. 1, TimesMachine https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1915/06/04/106786780.html?pageNumber=1.

Notes on Sketch 112, dated June 1915: Thirty-Sixth Imperial Diet

Itō caricatures Prime Minister Ōkuma Shigenobu as a battlefield survivor dodging five arrows labeled with political issues:

• 責任支出 (Mandatory expenditures)

• 選舉干涉 (Election interference)

• 二個師團 (Two army divisions)

• 外交失敗 (Diplomatic failure)

• 減債基金 (Debt reduction fund)

Each of these arrows reflects a budgetary or political crisis confronting the government during the 36th Imperial Diet in June 1915, many stemming from international backlash over the Twenty-One Demands to China, heavy military spending, and controversy over election conduct.

For a look at the turmoil during the previous 35th Diet, dissolved by Ōkuma, see Sketch 100. 

Translation of Toki Zenmaro's commentary and notes on Sketch 113, dated June 14, 1915: Tachiyama's Undefeated Record

How extraordinary

A single man's strength

Maintaining dominance, 

How fascinating it is!

Living for others' sake,

Such sadness.

— Ai

When Itō created this sketch in June 1915, Tachiyama had just completed competing in the Summer Tournament (Natsu Basho) at the Ryōgoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, extending his winning streak to 43 matches.

Toki Zenmaro (writing under the pen name Ai) likely composed his commentary in 1920, two years after Tachiyama's retirement from active competition in 1918. While his words may hint at post-retirement regret, there is no evidence in the historical record to suggest that Tachiyama harbored such feelings. Instead, the poem can be read more as a general meditation on the loneliness or sacrifice of a life wholly devoted to one's profession.

References:

"22nd Yokozuna Tachiyama Mineemon," Sumo Reference https://sumodb.sumogames.de/Rikishi.aspx?r=3565.

Translation of Okakura Yoshisaburō's commentary and notes on Sketch 114, dated June 14, 1915: So-Called Fierce Battle Between Two Armies

Crossed arms in combat — Kuregishi (Okakura Yoshisaburō)

Right:

Claiming to be a polar bear,
he raises his threatening hand
with a “Hold-up!”
Bang!—goes the arm.

Left:
The arrogant Kaiser,
before long will lose—
"Shall we surrender?"
Boom!—goes the arm.

In Itō's sketch, two half-naked demon-like men representing Russia (露) on the right and Germany (獨) on the left, drunkenly posture across a picnic-like setting, while two women representing France (仏) on the right and Austria-Hungary (墺) on the left look on with idle amusement.

Dated June 14, 1915, the sketch likely reflects how inconclusive developments on both the Western and Eastern Fronts were reported in the Japanese press. In France, the Second Battle of Artois had stalled by June, and on the Eastern Front, Austro-German forces appeared to have paused their offensive against Russia in Galicia. (Within days, however, the tide would turn, as Austro-German forces resumed their advance, driving the Russians eastward with heavy losses.)

From Itō’s distant vantage point in Japan, by then largely disengaged from the war, these vast European battles may have seemed like little more than posturing, bloodshed, and destruction, with few tangible gains. 

Notes on Sketch 115, dated June 23, 1915: German-Austrian Forces Recapture Lemberg

In this sketch, Itō depicts a fierce demon clad in a yellow loincloth, symbolizing the combined German and Austro-Hungarian forces (独墺), hurling a green loincloth-wearing figure representing Russia (露) from the ramparts of a castle wall. The setting evokes the historic fortress town of Lemberg (present-day Lviv, Ukraine), a city of strategic importance on the Eastern Front during World War I. 

Lemberg, the capital of the Austro-Hungarian province of Galicia, served as a major military and administrative hub. On September 3, 1914, Russian forces captured the city following their decisive victory in the Battle of Lemberg. This occupation marked one of the early Russian successes in the war. However, after months of regrouping and reinforced coordination between German and Austro-Hungarian commands, the Central Powers launched a powerful counteroffensive in June 1915. On June 20, they broke through Russian defensive lines, and just two days later, on June 22, they recaptured Lemberg, forcing the Russians into a general retreat. 

The New York Times

SATURDAY, JUNE 19, 1915

MIGHTY BATTLE FOR LEMBERG ON

Russians Making Desperate Stand on Grodek Line to Save Galician Capital.

LONDON, Saturday, June 19 - The Austro-German forces are not only nearer Lemberg, Galicia, but claim to have driven the Russians further across the frontier of Poland.

References:

Jerry Kochanowski, "Lemberg." In International Encyclopedia of the First World War, edited by Ute Daniel et al., Freie Universität Berlin, 2015, https://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/lemberg.

Excerpt from "Mighty Battle For Lemberg On," New York Times, June 19, 1915, p. 1, TimesMachine https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1915/06/19/101383014.html?pageNumber=1.

Translation of Hayashi Kiroku's commentary and notes on Sketch 116, dated July 15, 1915: Germany-United States Negotiations

The Lusitania incident was the most shocking of all Germany’s unlawful naval outrages and shook public opinion throughout the world. Yet the protest issued by the United States was manipulated and deflected by Germany. Despite numerous exchanges of diplomatic notes, no resolution was reached, and similar outrages continued to occur repeatedly thereafter.
This sketch presents a vivid portrayal of the U.S. [米]–German [獨] negotiations at that time. One sees only a hint of alarm on the American side and a cloud of frustration drifting about, leaving us to regret the absence of any clear resolution.

— Hayashi Kiroku, reckless commentary 

In Itō's sketch, Germany is depicted as a giant catfish (namazu), while the United States attempts to restrain it with a gourd (hyōtan). The Japanese proverb "restraining a slippery catfish with a smooth gourd" conveys the idea of trying to grasp or control something elusive or incomprehensible. Itō uses this visual metaphor to satirize Germany’s evasive diplomatic stance regarding its sinking of the passenger ship RMS Lusitania. (See Sketch 108.) 

In early July 1915, diplomatic tensions between the United States and Germany escalated over the sinking of the RMS Lusitania. On July 8, Germany replied to U.S. protests, expressing regret but defending its actions by alleging that Britain had armed passenger liners and that the Lusitania sank too quickly to have been unarmed, implying it carried hidden explosives. The U.S., emphasizing the loss of American lives, pressed for reparations and firm guarantees to prevent future attacks on neutral passengers. Germany expressed sympathy and left indemnity questions open but refused to alter its submarine warfare policy.

In notes exchanged on July 14–15, the U.S. rejected Germany’s justifications, calling them incompatible with international law and neutral rights. Although Germany informally curtailed submarine attacks on passenger vessels to avoid provoking American entry into the war, it stopped short of issuing formal guarantees.

Reparations were not the U.S.’s primary demand at the time, and none were paid immediately. However, in 1925, as part of a broader postwar settlement administered by the Mixed Claims Commission (United States and Germany), Germany paid compensation to the estates of American Lusitania victims.

(See Sketch 133, "German Warship Sinks British Ship Arabic," and note that Germany would resume unrestricted submarine warfare in January 1917.)

References:

Kurakata Shunsuke 倉方俊輔, commentary on Itō Chūta’s sketch “116,” in Itō Chūta 伊東忠太 and Sugimura Kōtarō 杉村廣太郎, 阿修羅帖 [Ashura-chō], 5 vols. (Tokyo: Yumani Shobō ゆまに書房, 2013), vol. 2.

For the diplomatic correspondence in the period July 8 through July 15 on the sinking of the Lusitania, including communication between the United States and Germany, see the following documents on the website of the United States Department of State, Office of the Historian:

"The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Germany (Gerard) (1915, Supplement, The World War)," July 18, 1915, https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1915Supp/d684.

"The Solicitor for the Department of State (Johnson) to the Secretary of State (Volume I, The Lansing Papers, 1914–1920)," July 16, 1915, https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1914-20v01/d407.

"The Secretary of State to President Wilson (Volume I, The Lansing Papers, 1914–1920)," July 14, 1915, https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1914-20v01/d405.

"The Secretary of State to President Wilson (Volume I, The Lansing Papers, 1914–1920)," July 15, 1915, https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1914-20v01/d406. 

"The Ambassador in Germany (Gerard) to the Secretary of State (1915, Supplement, The World War)," July 8, 1915 https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1915Supp/d672.

"The Ambassador in Germany (Gerard) to the Secretary of State (1915, Supplement, The World War)," July 13, 1915, https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1915Supp/d68.

Notes on Sketch 117, dated July 20, 1915: Germany Loses 450,000 Square Miles of Territory

Itō’s sketch, dated just days after the July 9, 1915 formal surrender of German South West Africa (now Namibia) to South African and British forces, shows a figure gleefully knocking down a signpost reading "German Territory" while planting one that reads "British Territory." While the “450,000 square miles” cited in the title exaggerates the colony’s actual size (roughly 322,000 square miles), the symbolic meaning is clear: the German colonial era in South West Africa, which began in 1884, had come to an end.

Following the war, the League of Nations assigned the territory to South Africa as a mandate, beginning decades of harsh colonial rule that culminated in the imposition of apartheid policies in 1948. German rule had already left a lasting and brutal legacy: between 1904 and 1908, in response to uprisings by the Herero and Nama peoples against land dispossession and settler violence, German colonial forces carried out what is widely recognized as the first genocide of the 20th century. Over 80 percent of the Herero and nearly half of the Nama population were killed through massacre, starvation, and forced labor in concentration camps.

South Africa’s continued rule, despite increasing international condemnation, ended with Namibia’s independence on March 21, 1990, following decades of armed resistance and the revocation of South Africa’s UN mandate.

References:

David Olusoga and Casper W. Erichsen, The Kaiser’s Holocaust: Germany’s Forgotten Genocide and the Colonial Roots of Nazism, Faber & Faber, 2010. 

Translation of Nobori Naotaka's commentary and notes on Sketch 118, dated July 27, 1915: Warsaw in Danger

The situation in Warsaw is truly going the “wrong way.”

Where is Russia, the supposed ally?

Neither shadow nor shape can be seen.

In Germany’s martial display, the ferocity of human beastliness is most terrifyingly depicted.

— Shomu

The New York Times

JULY 25, 1915

GERMANS TIGHTEN GRIP ON WARSAW FROM THE NORTH

LONDON, July 24. - [T]he German victories in Northern Poland and north of the Polish capital have tightened their grip on the city, and military critics say that the abandonment of Warsaw by the Russians again becomes more probable. 

References:

Excerpt from "Germans Tighten Grip On Warsaw From The North," New York Times, July 25, 1915, p. 1, TimesMachine https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1915/07/25/104015343.html?pageNumber=1.

Notes on Sketch 119, dated July 28, 1915: Turkey Invades Persia

Responding to newspaper reports published on July 27, 1915, announcing the Ottoman victory over Russia at the Battle of Manzikert (July 10–26), Itō’s sketch depicts Turkey (土耳其) striking Persia (波斯), while Afghanistan (阿富汗) and India (印度) look on with concern.

Persia, with its weak military and much of its northern territory already under Russian occupation, declared its neutrality on November 1, 1914. In late December 1914, the Ottoman Empire, having entered the war on the side of the Central Powers, launched an incursion into western Persia as part of its campaign against Russian forces.

Following their success at Manzikert in July 1915, Ottoman troops pushed further into northwestern Persia, especially into the region of Persian Azerbaijan. With Russian forces in retreat, Ottoman units advanced into strategic frontier towns such as Urmia, Saqqez, and Mahabad, signaling a renewed phase of military operations within officially neutral Persian territory.

Translation of Sugimura Kōtarō's commentary and notes on Sketch 120, dated July 29, 1915: Yuan Shikai's Dream

Dreams are lies.

— K. Sugimura

Around the time Itō drew this sketch of Yuan Shikai, President of the Republic of China, dreaming of ascending to the throne, arguments began appearing that supported restoring the monarchy with Yuan as emperor. Within Japan, there was a strong belief that Yuan Shikai was directing his supporters to build momentum for this move.

In December 1915, Yuan proclaimed himself the Hongxian Emperor. However, under mounting military pressure, political isolation, and national outrage, Yuan was forced to abandon the monarchy on March 22, 1916. He died shortly after, on June 6, 1916, his authority and health broken by the failed imperial restoration. 

References:

Kurakata Shunsuke 倉方俊輔, commentary on Itō Chūta’s sketch “120,” in Itō Chūta 伊東忠太 and Sugimura Kōtarō 杉村廣太郎, 阿修羅帖 [Ashura-chō], 5 vols. (Tokyo: Yumani Shobō ゆまに書房, 2013), vol. 2.

Translation of Yanagisawa Yasutoshi's commentary and notes on Sketch 121, dated July 30, 1915: Statistics of War Dead over the Past Year

1. Who preacheth war | is the devil's chaplain.

2. Death is deaf and hears no denial.

— Count Yanagisawa*

*Count Yanagisawa Yasutoshi studied statistics in Berlin and Strasbourg, founded the Yanagisawa Statistics Research Institute and pioneered the use of statistics in politics and actuarial science. He championed early census efforts in Japan. 

On the first anniversary of the start of WWI, Itō provides a bar graph of the dead: 

• 戦死　三百七十三万人
  Killed in action: 3.73 million

• 廃兵　四百六十八万五千人
  Disabled (wounded) soldiers: 4.685 million

• 俘虜　二百十四万人
  Prisoners of war: 2.14 million

(土) 十万 → Turkey 100,000

(白) 二万五千 → Belgium 25,000

(墺) 六十万 → Austria 600,000

(獨) 百万 → Germany 1,000,000

(露) 百十四万 → Russia 1,114,000

(英) 九万 → England 90,000

(佛) 七十万 → France 700,000

Translation of Ozaki Yukio's commentary and notes on Sketch 122, dated July 31, 1915: Ōkuma Cabinet Cursed

At dusk, the ghost comes

— Gakudō

Itō’s sketch depicts two opposition demons atop a pile of rocks, striking at stones that represent the Ōkuma Cabinet.

In late July 1915, the Ōkuma Cabinet faced the Ōura scandal: Home Minister Ōura Kanetake was accused of using party funds to bribe lower‑house members to pass a military funding bill. Chief Secretary of the House of Representatives, Hayashida Kametarō, admitted receiving money, was arrested, and resigned. On July 29, Ōura was forced to resign. The exposure of bribery severely damaged the government’s credibility. (However, see Sketch 125.)

Notes on Sketch 123, dated July 31, 1915: German Forces Finally Sack Warsaw

By the end of July, Russian forces were in full retreat, and it was evident that Warsaw would soon fall to German forces. (See Sketch 118.) German troops, however, did not enter and occupy the city until August 5–6. With the Russian army having withdrawn, the Germans entered Warsaw largely unopposed and, despite the title of Itō’s sketch, did not sack the city.*

The New York Times

August 6, 1915

The Fall of Warsaw

Warsaw, one of the most important cities of Eastern Europe, rich in steel and iron manufactures and the chief stronghold for the defense of Poland, is a great prize for the Germans. It is more than one-third of the way from Berlin to Petrograd. The taking of it was a valorous feat of arms, a triumph of German strategy and sheer doggedness. 

In his commentary, dated April 1920, on Itō's sketch drawn five years earlier, Ōizumi Kiyoshi renames Warsaw’s famous 17th-century "Wishing Bell" as the "Ghost Bell," possibly alluding to its removal by Russian forces as German troops advanced to occupy the city.

After World War I, the bell’s fate took a fortunate turn: though damaged, it was recovered, restored by Poland’s National Museum, and eventually returned to its original location behind St. John’s Cathedral in Warsaw.

*The verb 屠る in the title, literally "to slaughter" or "to butcher," should be seen as Itō’s dramatic rendering of Warsaw’s fall rather than as a description of the city’s actual destruction. 

References:

Excerpt from "The Fall of Warsaw," New York Times, August 6, 1915, p. 8, TimesMachine https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1915/08/06/100171689.html?pageNumber=8.

Translation of Takashima Daien's commentary and notes on Sketch 124, dated August 4, 1915: Russia Sends Friendly Signals to Japan

The period from the outbreak of the First World War to the Russian Revolution, from 1914 to 1917, marked the most favorable phase in relations between Japan and Russia. However, old tensions from the 1904-1905 Russo-Japanese War lingered.

In the illustration, a woman casts a sidelong glance while a samurai with a stoic expression crosses his arms, suggesting he will not respond to her overtures. This satirizes news reports suggesting that Russia, now on the defensive, was turning to Japan with hopeful expectations.

“Flirtatious glances! Got her!”

Thinking this must surely be the moment she’s finally come calling,

he lowers the corners of his eyes and lets his upper lip droop in a grin.

But when he looks more closely,

lo and behold!

She’s got a sword at her side and is anything but pleased.

“This isn’t what I expected at all!”

he mutters to himself, hurriedly

yanking out his extended nose hairs,

lifting his drooping eyelids,

and peering more carefully.

Only then does he realize—it’s not a flirtatious gaze at all,

but a menacing thorny glare!

— Takashima Beihō

Takashima’s commentary opens with the exclamation "Shūha!" (秋波), a term that originally referred to a woman’s cool, alluring gaze and later came to signify flirtatious behavior. 

Notes on Sketch 125, dated August 10, 1915: Ōkuma Cabinet Revived

In response to the turmoil caused by the Ōura scandal, the Ōkuma Cabinet submitted the resignations of all its ministers on July 30. However, after being urged to remain by Ōkuma at their August 3 meeting, it was decided that the cabinet would stay in power. In the end, only three ministers were replaced in a partial reshuffle, and the formal reappointment ceremony was held on August 10.

This illustration is a continuation of Sketch 122, dramatically portraying the reversal of Ōkuma's political fortunes. Revived with new vigor, the Ōkuma Cabinet’s fierce resolve causes the two demons in Itō's sketch to panic and drop their weapons in fear.

References:

Kurakata Shunsuke 倉方俊輔, commentary on Itō Chūta’s sketch “125,” in Itō Chūta 伊東忠太 and Sugimura Kōtarō 杉村廣太郎, 阿修羅帖 [Ashura-chō], 5 vols. (Tokyo: Yumani Shobō ゆまに書房, 2013), vol. 2.

Notes on Sketch 126, dated August 12, 1915: Who Will Win?

The First World War, initially seen by Germany as a short conflict, had become a prolonged struggle. Even after a year of fighting, its outcome remained uncertain. By August, however, the Central Powers, particularly Germany, appeared to be gaining the upper hand. 

In Itō's illustration, a goddess looks at scales symbolizing the balance of the war. In the left pan are the Central Powers: Austria (墺), Germany (独), and Turkey (土). In the right pan are the Allied Powers: Italy (伊), Britain (英), Russia (露), France (仏), Serbia (塞), and Belgium (白). The size of each figure reflects its relative military strength, with Germany depicted as the most dominant.

Translation of Itō Chūta's commentary and notes on Sketch 127, dated August 14, 1915: Allied Powers Entice Bulgaria

Bulgaria:
“If Serbia would just hand over Macedonia…”

Everyone else:
“Quit your whining—
hurry up and join our side already!”

— [sealed] Chūta

In Itō's sketch, Bulgaria (勃) is seated on the right, arms crossed and wearing an obstinate expression, while the assembled Allied powers, Russia (露), Britain (英), France (仏), Serbia (塞), and Italy (伊), attempt to persuade it to join their side.

To the right of Bulgaria, Itō includes the line: "If Serbia hands over Macedonia, then...," referencing Bulgaria's demand for the return of Macedonia, a territory Serbia had seized during the Second Balkan War in 1913.

When Turkey entered the war on the side of the Central Powers, both the Allies and the Central Powers began efforts to draw in strategically important neighboring Bulgaria, located to Turkey's west. For Germany, Bulgaria was key for opening up a land route from Berlin to Constantinople, allowing closer military collaboration between the Ottoman and German empires.  

Ultimately, the Allies were unable to compel Serbia to cede Macedonia, and Bulgaria tilted toward the Central Powers, formally joining them two months later on October 14, 1915. This episode continues the complex portrayal of Balkan affairs that began in Sketch 80.

References:

Kurakata Shunsuke 倉方俊輔, commentary on Itō Chūta’s sketch “127,” in Itō Chūta 伊東忠太 and Sugimura Kōtarō 杉村廣太郎, 阿修羅帖 [Ashura-chō], 5 vols. (Tokyo: Yumani Shobō ゆまに書房, 2013), vol. 2.

Notes on Sketch 128, dated August 14, 1915: Germany Proposes Peace to Russia

In Itō's sketch, Germany is depicted as a bandit, clutching a chest of gold under one arm while pointing to a sword thrust into the ground as he offers peace terms to Russia. Russia, however, appears largely uninterested.

From March 1915, Germany had been seeking to bring about a separate peace with Russia, aiming to detach Russia from its Entente allies, Britain and France, who were engaged on the Western Front. Such a move would have allowed Germany to concentrate its forces in the west and improve its overall strategic position in the war.

Itō’s sketch was likely prompted by mid-August 1915 newspaper reports describing Germany’s alleged peace overtures to Russia. An Associated Press dispatch, published on August 14, carried Germany’s denial, though the tone of that denial likely reinforced suspicions that overtures had, in fact, been made.

The Atlanta Journal.

SATURDAY EVENING, AUGUST 14, 1915 

GERMAN PAPER RIDICULES DARDANELLES BARGAIN

 Says Germany Hasn't Offered Straits to Russia in Effort to Make Peace

(By Associated Press.)

LONDON, Aug. Reports that Germany has made overtures to Russia for a separate peace by offering to Russia a free use of the Dardanelles are ridiculed by the Hamburg Nachrichten, according to a Reuter's dispatch from Amsterdam.

"Germany does not own the Dardanelles and therefore cannot offer them to anybody," declares the Nachrichten. "They are the property of the Turks, who for five months have proved that they know how to defend them. The German empire does not betray its allies." 

References:

Excerpt from "German Paper Ridicules Dardanelles Bargain," The Atlanta Journal, August 14, 1915, accessed January 12, 2026, https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/970074463/.

Notes on Sketch 129, dated August 17, 1915: British Ship Royal Edward Sunk by German Submarine in the Aegean Sea

The New York Times

August 18, 1915

1,000 LOST WITH BRITISH TRANSPORT

The Royal Edward Torpedoed and Sunk in Aegean Sea by German Submarine. 

ONLY 600 ABOARD SAVED

London Shocked by News of Loss of Troopship, the First Sunk During the War

Itō depicts the Royal Edward as a defenseless woman and Germany as a highway robber attacking her from behind, corresponding to how a torpedo fired by the German submarine UB-14 struck the doomed ship's stern. This illustration is less shocking than Itō's Sketch 108 of the sinking of the Lusitania, possibly because the majority on board the Royal Edward were military reinforcements for the Gallipoli landings rather than civilians.

References:

"1,000 Lost With British Transport," New York Times, August 18, 1915, p. 8, TimesMachine https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1915/08/18/106788098.html?pageNumber=1

Kurakata Shunsuke 倉方俊輔, commentary on Itō Chūta’s sketch “129,” in Itō Chūta 伊東忠太 and Sugimura Kōtarō 杉村廣太郎, 阿修羅帖 [Ashura-chō], 5 vols. (Tokyo: Yumani Shobō ゆまに書房, 2013), vol. 2.

Translation of Fukuchi Nobuyo's commentary and notes on Sketch 130, dated August 19, 1915: British Forces Land at Dardanelles Strait

The lord is off at the club,
engaged in a game of go.
The lady is out somewhere nearby,
battling it out with flowers.
The young master is at the seaside,
quarreling over a love affair gone wrong.
The whole family is in disorder.
The student and maid have turned to socialism.

— respectfully inscribed by Fukuchi Nobuyo.

In Itō’s sketch, soldiers from Australia (豪州), New Zealand (新西蘭), and Senegal (セネガル兵) are depicted blithely marching in step behind Britain (英), advancing toward Turkey (土), depicted in an aggressive posture.

On August 6, the Allied Powers began landing at Suvla Bay on the northern coast of the Gallipoli Peninsula, a key strategic location along the Dardanelles Strait. This operation was part of the Dardanelles Campaign, launched under British leadership in February 1915, with the goal of attacking Turkey after it joined the Central Powers and seizing the Dardanelles.

Ultimately, the campaign failed. The landings led to heavy casualties and a prolonged stalemate, and with further advances proving impossible, the Allies decided to withdraw in December.

References:

Kurakata Shunsuke 倉方俊輔, commentary on Itō Chūta’s sketch “130,” in Itō Chūta 伊東忠太 and Sugimura Kōtarō 杉村廣太郎, 阿修羅帖 [Ashura-chō], 5 vols. (Tokyo: Yumani Shobō ゆまに書房, 2013), vol. 2.

Notes on Sketch 131, dated August 19, 1915: German Forces Choke on Their Own Poison Gas

In this sketch, Itō Chūta’s first to depict chemical warfare, German "dogs of war" release a cloud of poison gas across the battlefield toward a pack of dogs representing Russia. The attack backfires when the wind god intervenes, driving the gas back into the faces of the German troops. Blinded and choking, they rub their eyes and flee in disorder, while the Russian forces look on with grim satisfaction at their enemy’s ignominious retreat. 

Itō based this scene on contemporary Russian news reports alleging that a German gas attack on the Eastern Front backfired when a sudden shift in wind direction drove the gas over the German troops. According to these reports, frontline soldiers fled in panic, and their retreat was mistaken for an enemy advance, prompting friendly fire that resulted in their annihilation.

While the Germans did release poison gas during their August 6, 1915 assault on the Russian-held Osowiec Fortress, and some of their troops may have been affected by the gas, no reliable evidence confirms that German forces suffered major casualties or fired on their own men in that attack.

The incident that inspired Itō was likely exaggerated, but it reflects the very real horrors of chemical warfare. The first large-scale use of poison gas occurred on April 22, 1915, at Ypres on the Western Front, when German forces released a wave of chlorine gas from ground-based cylinders. That attack devastated Allied lines and marked the beginning of a grim new phase of the war. From that point forward, gas warfare evolved rapidly, with both the Central and Allied powers employing increasingly sophisticated chemical weapons throughout the conflict.

References:

Kurakata Shunsuke 倉方俊輔, commentary on Itō Chūta’s sketch “131,” in Itō Chūta 伊東忠太 and Sugimura Kōtarō 杉村廣太郎, 阿修羅帖 [Ashura-chō], 5 vols. (Tokyo: Yumani Shobō ゆまに書房, 2013), vol. 2.

"First Use of Poison Gas," National World War I Museum and Memorial, accessed January 12, 2026,  https://www.theworldwar.org/learn/about-wwi/spotlight-first-usage-poison-gas

Translation of Kamitsukasa Nobutaka's commentary and notes on Sketch 132, dated August 19, 1915: German Forces Advance and Capture Kovno

A storm of sovereign force—

Even the Niemen River

joins the strife.

— Kamitsukasa Shōken

The New York Times

August 19, 1915

GERMANS GET KOVNO AND 400 CANNON; FORTRESS SMASHED BY MONSTER GUNS; RUSSIAN ARMY NOW IN GRAVE PERIL

On August 18, 1915, German forces captured the Russian fortress of Kovno (now Kaunas, Lithuania), a key objective in the German Eastern Front offensive. In Kamitsukasa's commentary, his reference to the Niemen River highlights its strategic importance as a natural defensive barrier during the battle. 

References:

"Germans Get Kovno And 400 Cannon," New York Times, August 19, 1915, p. 1, TimesMachine https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1915/08/19/issue.html 

Notes on Sketch 133, dated August 19, 1915: German Warship Sinks British Ship Arabic

Three and one-half months after a German submarine torpedoed and sank the Lusitania (Sketch 108), the British passenger ship Arabic was sunk by a torpedo from the German submarine U-24 off the southern coast of Ireland. Forty-four of the 424 people on board lost their lives, including two Americans. (See Sketch 134 for the American response to Germany on the sinking.)

On August 19, 1925 the United States Secretary of State Robert Lansing received the following telegram from his vice consul in Queenstown, County Cork, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland: "Arabic sunk at 9.30 to-day 60 miles from Queenstown. Sunk in eleven minutes. Eleven boats of survivors being brought here. Thompson."

As in Sketch 108, "German Submarine Assassinates (Sinks) British Ship Lusitania," Itō depicts the Arabic as a voluptuous naked woman, exposed and helpless as she is attacked.

References:

"Vice Consul at Cork (Thompson) to the Secretary of State, telegram, received August 19, 1915," in Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, 1915, Supplement, The World War, Document 745, File No. 841.857Ar1, United States Department of State, Office of the Historian, https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1915Supp/d745

Translation of Mori Ritsuko's commentary and notes on Sketch 134, dated August 19, 1915: "Here, Is This Still Not Enough?"

The curtain falls,

As one meets their bloody end.

“Yashio!* Strike your final pose!”

So alike we are, entangled in fate.

— Ritsuko

*Yashio refers to the cruel character, Lady Yashio, from the play Sendai Hagi, who attempts to poison a child and, when that fails, ultimately stabs the child to death—among other horrific acts. 

In Itō's sketch, Germany (獨) plunges a dagger into a prone figure labeled Arabic (アラビック), while the United States (米) looks on passively. The caption, "Is this still not enough?" alludes to Germany's earlier sinking of the Lusitania (Sketch 108) and the American lives lost in that disaster, and the U.S. government's ineffectual diplomatic protests to Germany over both incidents.

The New York Times

August 20, 1915

WHITE STAR LINER ARABIC, TORPEDOED WITHOUT WARNING WITH 26 AMERICANS ABOARD, SINKS IN ELEVEN MINUTES; 391 SAVED, SOME INJURED; TWO AMERICANS AMONG 32 MISSING

On August 20, 1915, the New York Times devoted its entire front page to the attack on the Arabic under the banner headline above. The coverage detailed the U.S. government’s cautious, wait-and-see posture as reports continued to arrive, listed the names of the survivors and the missing, praised the "gallantry" of the ship’s crew, and conveyed British public reaction under the subheading "London Press Asks What We Will Do."

Although President Woodrow Wilson confined his public response to the sinking of the Arabic—as he had after the Lusitania disaster of May 7, 1915—to firm diplomatic protests, the incident nevertheless contributed privately to heightened American war preparedness. In its aftermath, Wilson instructed the Secretary of War to "draw plans for the full development of the fighting arms of the nation," signaling a growing recognition within the administration that continued restraint carried its own risks. 

References:

"White Star Liner Arabic, Torpedoed Without Warning With 26 American Aboard..." New York Times, August 20, 1915, p. 1, TimesMachine https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1915/08/20/105037996.html?pageNumber=1.

"Woodrow Wilson, World War I, and Freedom of the Seas," Naval History and Heritage Command, last modified November 1, 2017, https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/browse-by-topic/wars-conflicts-and-operations/world-war-i/history/ww1-freedom-of-seas.html.

Michael Ryan Floyd, "The Formative Period of Anglo-American Relations during the First World War, July 1914–December 1915" (PhD diss., University of Alabama, 2010), 265, https://ir-api.ua.edu/api/core/bitstreams/2e6a8202-ffa0-4cf6-93fc-b0398c675d51/content.

Notes on Sketch 135, dated August 21, 1915: Greece Leans Toward the Allies

In this sketch, Itō Chūta depicts the Allied Powers (聯合国) beckoning toward Greece (希), represented as a proud child, sword by his side. As of late August 1915, Greece appeared to be leaning toward the Allies. This shift was influenced by the growing alignment of Bulgaria, its opponent in the Second Balkan War of 1913, with the Central Powers, and by Greece’s longstanding tensions with Turkey.

However, Greece’s internal politics remained deeply divided. King Constantine I, whose wife was the sister of the German Kaiser, favored continued neutrality. In contrast, Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos strongly advocated for joining the Allies. This power struggle kept Greece officially neutral until July 1917, when it formally entered the war on the side of the Allies.

Translation of Tsukamoto Yasushi's commentary and notes on Sketch 136, dated August 21, 1915: Germany Wins Again

THE HATED FLOURISH IN THE WORLD

— Prof. Tsukamoto

Beginning in May 1915, Germany launched a series of concentrated military offensives on the Eastern Front, forcing the Russian army into what became known as the "Great Retreat." In early August, German forces captured Warsaw (Sketch 123), followed by the occupation of Kovno in mid-August (Sketch 132).

Itō’s sketch is steeped in imagery of violence and bloodshed: Germany (獨) is depicted with a bloody sword clenched in its mouth and several severed heads, trophies of victory, hanging from its waist, while it wrings blood from its stained clothing. In contrast, the Russian (露) army appears small and feeble, fleeing back toward Petrograd (ペトログラード, now Saint Petersburg), then the capital of the Russian Empire.

References:

Kurakata Shunsuke 倉方俊輔, commentary on Itō Chūta’s sketch “136,” in Itō Chūta 伊東忠太 and Sugimura Kōtarō 杉村廣太郎, 阿修羅帖 [Ashura-chō], 5 vols. (Tokyo: Yumani Shobō ゆまに書房, 2013), vol. 2.

Notes on Sketch 137, dated August 20, 1915: Russian Forces Defeat Turkish Army in the Caucasus

After Turkey (the Ottoman Empire) entered the war on October 29, 1914, Turkish and Russian forces confronted each other in the Caucasus Mountains separating their territories. In Itō’s sketch, dated August 20, the Russian (露) army appears to have the upper hand, reflecting a period when Russian forces were reclaiming territory previously held by the Turks (土). However, the battle soon devolved into a back-and-forth struggle of attack and counterattack, resulting in a prolonged and grueling conflict.

References:

Kurakata Shunsuke 倉方俊輔, commentary on Itō Chūta’s sketch “137,” in Itō Chūta 伊東忠太 and Sugimura Kōtarō 杉村廣太郎, 阿修羅帖 [Ashura-chō], 5 vols. (Tokyo: Yumani Shobō ゆまに書房, 2013), vol. 2.

Translation of Akutagawa Ryūnosuke's commentary and notes on Sketch 138, dated August 22, 1915: Italy Declares War on Turkey

Morning breaks,

flowering kudzu vines,

tangled in each other.

— Gaki

The New York Times

August 22, 1915

ITALY, FLEET AND ARMY WAITING, DECLARES WAR ON TURKEY

NEW FOE FOR THE MOSLEMS

________________

LONDON, Sunday, Aug. 22 - Italy has declared war against Turkey, according to a Stefani News Agency dispatch from Rome. . . . [T]he Marquis di Garroni, the Italian Ambassador at Constantinople, presented the declaration yesterday. . . . The reasons given in the note for Italy's declaration of war were the support by Turkey of the revolt in Libya and the prevention of the departure of Italian residents from Syria.

When Italy entered World War I in May 1915, it declared war only on Austria-Hungary, frustrating the Allied Powers, who had hoped for a broader engagement. It was not until August 21, 1915, that Italy declared war on the Ottoman Empire. The two countries had recently been adversaries in the Italo-Turkish War (1911–1912), during which Italy seized control of Libya from the Ottomans and established colonial rule. The Libyan revolt mentioned in the Times article refers to the ongoing violent resistance to Italian occupation by Libyan nationalists, including the Senussi brotherhood, a powerful Muslim political and religious order.

Italy’s delay in declaring war on the Ottoman Empire reflected a mix of military unpreparedness and strategic, political, and diplomatic considerations.

References:

Excerpt from "Italy, Fleet And Army Waiting, Declares War on Turkey," New York Times, August 22, 1915, p. 1, TimesMachine https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1915/08/22/issue.html.

Notes on Sketch 139, dated August 23, 1915: Great Naval Battle in the Gulf of Riga

Between August 8 and 21, 1915, the German Navy launched a major operation to enter the Gulf of Riga in the Baltic Sea and destroy Russian naval forces, lay mines, and support the Eastern Front offensive. Although Germany held a substantial naval superiority, their operation ultimately failed, marking a strategic setback for Germany and a temporary victory for Russian naval defense in the Baltic.

Itō's sketch is an allegory of this first Battle for the Gulf of Riga. The goddess of war serves as the presiding figure over the sumo bout between Russia (露), depicted as composed and ready, and Germany (獨), looking a bit confused. 

Notes on Sketch 140, dated August 23, 1915: Big Catch in the Gulf of Riga

In this follow-up to Sketch 139, Itō depicts Russia hauling in a net filled with demons (yōkai). A parenthetical caption reads: "Among the twelve ships caught in the net was the 23,000-ton Moltke."

While Itō’s imagery suggests that the SMS Moltke was captured or destroyed, in reality the German battlecruiser survived a torpedo strike on its bow by a British submarine, was repaired, and returned to active service.

The First Battle of the Gulf of Riga on August 8 ended in a Russian victory despite Germany’s deployment of a powerful fleet. In a second operation beginning on August 16, German forces managed to break into the gulf. However, after suffering significant damage in the ensuing battles, the Germans were again forced to withdraw on August 21.

Notes on Sketch 141, dated August 23, 1915: The United States Becomes Slightly Provoked

As part of its commerce-raiding campaign, Germany announced that, beginning in February 1915, it would engage in unrestricted submarine warfare, attacking merchant ships without warning within a self-declared war zone surrounding the British Isles. In the course of this campaign, the British passenger liner Lusitania was torpedoed and sunk on May 7 (Sketch 108), followed by the sinking of another British liner, the Arabic, on August 19 (Sketch 133). Among the many civilian casualties were over one hundred American passengers.

These incidents prompted the U.S. government to issue forceful diplomatic protests and to quietly undertake military and financial preparations, as suggested in the commentary accompanying Sketch 133. American public opinion, which had largely favored neutrality, began to shift toward sympathy for the Allied cause.

In the sketch, Itō depicts America (米) in a posture that reflects this evolving sentiment: while not overtly aggressive, her posture and facial expression convey restrained anger in response to Germany’s (獨) provocations and evasive diplomatic responses.

Although pursuing aggressive naval tactics, Germany did not wish to draw the United States into the war. To avoid escalating tensions further, it suspended its policy of unrestricted submarine warfare against non-military vessels the following month, though this restraint would prove temporary, as unrestricted attacks resumed in 1917. (See Sketch 229, Germany Declares It Will Disregard Naval Rules of War.)

Notes on Sketch 142, dated August 27, 1915: Making a Rope After Seeing the Thief

Itō’s sketch depicts four Russians (露) frantically twisting rope, while two of them glance anxiously at a lurking armed figure symbolizing Germany (獨). Itō’s parenthetical inscription, "making a rope after seeing the thief," underscores Russia’s lack of preparedness and how its armament orders surged only after suffering severe German attacks.

In the summer of 1915, following a series of Russian military defeats, Bryner, Kuznetsov & Co., a Russian import-export firm acting as an intermediary for the government, secured a major arms deal with Japan. Most notably, in August 1915, it arranged an order for four million charged time-fuses for 3-inch artillery shells, valued at 19.2 million yen. (For further information on Russian arms purchases from Japan, see Sketch 70.)

References:

Eduard Baryshev, "The Issue of Armaments Supply in Russo-Japanese Relations during the First World War (August 1914 – March 1917)," Northeast Asian Studies, Issue 25, March 2014.

Notes on Sketch 143, dated August 27, 1915: Current State of the Great Powers

As the Great War settled into a seeming stalemate on the Western Front, Itō characterizes the war's major powers as follows. From right to left, he depicts Russia (露), as empty-handed, labeling it as "lacking wisdom" (智足らず); Germany (獨), as heavily armed, labeling it as "lacking resources" (資足らす); France (佛), as falling asleep and labeled as "lacking strength" (力足らず); and Britain (英), shown as being rather indifferent and carrying the label of "lacking boldness" (勇足らず).

At the time of this sketch in late August 1915, on the Eastern Front, Germany was engaged in a major offensive against Russia. This campaign, which would continue into September, culminated in what became known as the "Great Retreat" by Russian forces. Under intense pressure, the Russian Army was forced to abandon vast areas of territory, incurring over two million casualties in the process. Itō’s sketch reflects both the shifting fortunes of the war and contemporary Japanese views of the relative capabilities and resolve of the Allied and Central Powers.

Translation of Kikuchi Kan's commentary and notes on Sketch 144, dated August 28, 1915: Brest-Litovsk Falls

Autumn rain—

a great mushroom

topples over.

— Kikuchi Kan

Beginning in May 1915, Germany launched a series of concentrated military offensives on the Eastern Front, forcing the Russian army into what became known as the "Great Retreat." In early August, German forces captured Warsaw (Sketch 123), followed by the occupation of Kovno in mid-August (Sketch 132). As reported below, the Russian fortress city of Brest-Litovsk fell to the Germans and their Austro-Hungarian allies in late August. 

The Leader

BREST LITOVSK FALLEN.

LONDON, 26th August.

Berlin officially announces that the Russian fortress of Brest Litovsk has fallen.

The Austro-German forces stormed the western and north-western fronts and penetrated the inner fortifications. The fortress then surrendered.

In his sketch, Itō likens the German offensive to a game of falling shogi pieces. The names of cities are written on the pieces. Warsaw (ワルシャワ; Sketch 123), Kovno (コウノ; modern-day Kaunas in Lithuania; Sketch 132), and Brest-Litovsk (ブレスト＝リトフスク) have already been toppled, and next in line is Grodno (フロドナ; present-day Hrodna in Belarus). The final, large piece represents Petrograd (ペトログラード), the Russian capital at the time (now Saint Petersburg). 

References:

Excerpt from "Brest Litovsk Fallen," Leader (Melbourne, VIC), August 28, 1915, p. 38, Trove: National Library of Australia, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/8541288.

Kurakata Shunsuke 倉方俊輔, commentary on Itō Chūta’s sketch “144,” in Itō Chūta 伊東忠太 and Sugimura Kōtarō 杉村廣太郎, 阿修羅帖 [Ashura-chō], 5 vols. (Tokyo: Yumani Shobō ゆまに書房, 2013), vol. 2.

Translation of Tanakadate Aikitsu's commentary and notes on Sketch 145, dated August 29, 1915: British Aircraft Sinks German Submarine at Ostend

Is the size of the airplane, as seen in this picture, really that much larger than a submarine?

— Tanakadate Aikitsu

Itō created this sketch, depicting a monstrous bird (as in Sketch 19) descending upon a sea dragon, in response to the following announcement made on August 26, 1915, by the British Secretary of the Admiralty:

Squadron Commander Arthur W. Bigsworth, R.N., has destroyed single-handed a German submarine this morning by bombs dropped from an aeroplane. The submarine was observed to be completely wrecked and sank off Ostend. The brilliant feat of Squadron Commander Bigsworth was performed in the immediate neighbourhood of the coast in occupation of the enemy, and the position of the sunken submarine has been located by a German destroyer.

In reply, the German Admiralty issued the following statement two days later:

The English Admiralty announced on August 27th that a German U-boat had been completely destroyed and sunk by an English naval aeroplane before Ostend. The report is incorrect. It is true that the U-boat was attacked by the aeroplane, but it was not hit, and returned to the harbour undamaged.

While the British Admiralty would go on to credit Squadron Commander Arthur Wellesley Bigsworth of the Royal Naval Air Service with the sinking of the German submarine U‑14 on August 26, 1915, off the coast of Ostend, Belgium, the site of a German submarine base (see Sketch 62), in fact, U‑14 had already been sunk more than two months earlier in a different location. Apart from British wartime reports, which relied solely on Bigsworth’s account of striking a submarine he believed to be U‑14, there is no independent confirmation, wartime or postwar, of any German U-boat being sunk near Ostend, or anywhere else, by a British aircraft on August 26.

References:

"Aeroplane Versus Submarine," Flight, September 3, 1915, p. 626.

Erich Gröner, German Warships: 1815–1945, vol. 2, U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels, trans. Thomas L. Jentz, Conway Maritime Press, 1991, p. 5.

Paul Kemp, U-Boats Destroyed: German Submarine Losses in the World Wars, Arms and Armour Press, 1997, p. 9-10.

Notes on Sketch 146, dated August 30, 1915: Germany Seeks Passage Through Bulgaria

In 1915, both the Central Powers (led by Germany and Austria-Hungary) and the Entente (France, Britain, and Russia) courted Bulgaria, whose geographic position made it pivotal to the balance of power in the Balkans. Each side offered promises of territorial expansion in exchange for military alignment.

Itō’s sketch portrays Germany, sword in hand, demanding that Bulgaria (ブルガリア) open its gate to allow passage toward Serbia (セルビア), shown in the background. The imagery captures the growing diplomatic pressure on Sofia to choose sides in the war.

A week after Itō completed this sketch, on September 6, 1915, Bulgaria signed a secret military convention with the Central Powers, securing promises of territorial gains at Serbia’s expense. This agreement paved the way for a coordinated Central Powers offensive against Serbia in October, linking Germany and Austria-Hungary with the Ottoman Empire through Bulgarian territory.

Bulgaria formally entered the war on the side of the Central Powers on October 14, 1915, marking the opening of a decisive new phase in the Balkan campaign.

Translation of Itō Chūta's commentary and notes on Sketch 147, dated September 2, 1915: Falsehoods and Truths

Itō’s sketch depicts a knife-wielding "demon" Germany (獨) pursuing and seizing by the loincloth a fleeing Russia (露). The German figure shouts, "Surrender or I’ll kill you!" while Russia defiantly replies, "I’ll fight to the end!"

Above the image, Itō inscribes the idiom 虚虚実実 (kyokyo-jitsujitsu), literally "falsehoods and truths." This four-character phrase carries layered meanings. In the military sense, it refers to the art of feigning weakness while concealing strength, attacking the enemy’s "false" (unprotected) points while defending one’s own “real” (fortified) ones. In the psychological sense, it suggests a contest of deception and perception, in which each side blends truth and falsehood to probe the other’s intentions. 

Itō’s sketch overlays both meanings: Germany seeks to exploit Russia’s weaknesses to force peace, while Russia feigns vulnerability as it retreats and reorganizes its forces. The sketch captures the strategic tug-of-war between the two powers.

References:

Kurakata Shunsuke 倉方俊輔, commentary on Itō Chūta’s sketch “147,” in Itō Chūta 伊東忠太 and Sugimura Kōtarō 杉村廣太郎, 阿修羅帖 [Ashura-chō], 5 vols. (Tokyo: Yumani Shobō ゆまに書房, 2013), vol. 2. 

Notes on Sketch 148, dated September 3, 1915: Grodno Falls

Beginning in May 1915, Germany launched a series of concentrated military offensives on the Eastern Front, forcing the Russian army into what became known as the "Great Retreat." In early August, German forces captured Warsaw (Sketch 123), followed by the occupation of Kovno in mid-August (Sketch 132). Brest-Litovsk would follow on August 20 (Sketch 144) and Grodno (present-day Hrodna in Belarus) would fall on September 2.  

Itō's sketch takes a sardonic view of the German army’s seemingly unstoppable advance. Rather than portraying the German forces as fierce warriors, they are depicted as a stoat (weasel) biting the rump of a large fleeing pig, inflicting minor damage. The allegory suggests that, while Germany's invasion of the vast Russian Empire may cause a temporary retreat, the actual impact will be minimal.

References:

Kurakata Shunsuke 倉方俊輔, commentary on Itō Chūta’s sketch “148,” in Itō Chūta 伊東忠太 and Sugimura Kōtarō 杉村廣太郎, 阿修羅帖 [Ashura-chō], 5 vols. (Tokyo: Yumani Shobō ゆまに書房, 2013), vol. 2.

Notes on Sketch 149, dated September 4, 1915: Pope Mediates Peace

Following Pope Benedict XV’s apostolic exhortation To the Peoples Now at War and to Their Rulers of July 28, 1915, the Vatican quietly began circulating peace proposals among the belligerent powers. These early initiatives, conducted largely through diplomatic and ecclesiastical channels, met with no success.*

On September 3, 1915, newspapers reported on the Vatican’s efforts to enlist the United States—still a neutral power—in its mediation campaign. One such report appeared in the Atlanta Georgian under the headline "Immediate Armistice Is Proposed by Pope." Filed from Rome by the International News Service, the article described Cardinal James Gibbons’s visit to President Woodrow Wilson, during which he conveyed a personal message from Pope Benedict XV. Vatican officials declined public comment, emphasizing that only the Pope himself and the Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Gasparri, were authorized to speak definitively on the matter. The report noted the Pope’s belief that a general lull in military operations might lead most of the belligerent nations to recognize the necessity of ending the war.

Two years later, on August 1, 1917, Benedict XV would make a more formal and widely publicized attempt at mediation with his seven-point "peace note," which likewise failed to gain traction (see Sketch 285).

In Itō Chūta’s sketch, the Pope is depicted as an elderly monk clad in a kesa-like robe, suggesting a blending of Western Catholic and Buddhist visual idioms. On the far right, Germany (獨) observes events with hopeful anticipation, while the United States (米) sits apart, smoking a pipe with an air of indifference—unconcerned and seemingly untouched by the conflict. The imagery reflects contemporary perceptions of American detachment in 1915, prior to U.S. entry into the war.

President Wilson ultimately declined the Vatican’s overture. In his response to Cardinal Gibbons, Wilson expressed his willingness to support any peace initiative that offered a genuine prospect of success, but judged the moment premature and the conditions unfavorable for effective mediation.

*For the full English text of the apostolic exhortation, see "Benedict XV, Apostolic Exhortation, To the Peoples Now at War and to Their Rulers," July 28, 1915, Vatican website

https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xv/en/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_ben-xv_exh_19150728_fummo-chiamati.html.

References:

"Immediate Armistice Is Proposed by Pope," Atlanta Georgian, September 3, 1915, [2], Digital Library of Georgia, https://gahistoricnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu/lccn/sn89053729/1915-09-03/ed-6/seq-2/#words=Armistice+Immediate+Pope+Proposed.

Notes on Sketch 150, dated September 5, 1915: Debate on Chinese Monarchy

Itō’s sketch depicts Yuan Shikai (袁世凱), president of the Republic of China, peering through a round window at a group of Chinese engaged in a debate over whether the monarchy should be restored in China. (See Sketch 120.) The image closely follows the publication of a paper by American political scientist Frank Johnson Goodnow, an advisor to the Beijing government. Supporters of restoring the monarchy interpreted and used this paper to argue that a constitutional monarchy was the most suitable form of government for China.* On August 14, Yang Du, a close associate of Yuan, and others founded the Chou An Society (籌安會, Chouankai), asserting that only a return to monarchy could provide the stability China needed.

The composition reflects the prevailing public opinion at the time that the pro-monarchy movement was orchestrated by Yuan himself to fulfill his own aspirations.

*Dr. Goodnow would later deny that the statement attributed to him—that "a monarchical system of government is better than a republican system"—was accurate, and he maintained that he was not advocating any specific form of government for China. 

References:

Kurakata Shunsuke 倉方俊輔, commentary on Itō Chūta’s sketch “150,” in Itō Chūta 伊東忠太 and Sugimura Kōtarō 杉村廣太郎, 阿修羅帖 [Ashura-chō], 5 vols. (Tokyo: Yumani Shobō ゆまに書房, 2013), vol. 2. 

Barbara Barnouin and Yu Changgen, Zhou Enlai: A Political Life, Chinese University Press, 2006, p. 14.

Translation of Yamasaki Naomasa's commentary and notes on Sketch 151, dated September 1-10, 1915: German-Russian Front

I have heard that in Yunnan flows the River Lu.
When the pepper blossoms fall, mists of pestilence rise.
The great army wades across water hot as boiling soup—
Before they even pass through, two or three in ten are dead.*

Using Bai Juyi's lines on the retreat of defeated armies

— Tanseki Nao

*A passage from the poem "Old Man of Xinfeng with a Broken Arm" by the Chinese poet Bai Juyi (772–846). 

Itō Chūta’s map depicts the Eastern Front as it stood in early September 1915, with the positions of the opposing forces shown by a curving dashed line across the center, purple representing German troops and yellow representing Russian forces. By this point, the German advance that had begun in May 1915 had pushed the front line roughly 200 to 300 miles eastward.

Although largely accurate, the map's orientation may be confusing at first glance, as north is to the right, rather than at the top. In the northern portion of the map (to the right), we see the Russian capital Petrograd (ペトログラード) in the lower right corner, with the Gulf of Riga (リガ湾) and the Baltic Sea (東海) above it. A long diagonal dotted line runs between Petrograd and Riga, marking the direct distance between the two in ri (an old Japanese unit of distance).

In the southern part of the map (to the left), the Russian city of Kiev (キエフ) appears in the lower left along the Dnieper River (ドニープル川), while the Austro-Hungarian city of Lemberg (レンベルグ) is shown in the upper left, with the San River (サン川) nearby.

Notes on Sketch 152, dated September 10, 1915: German Airship Threatens London

This sketch marks the first appearance of airships in Ashura-chō. As with airplanes and warships, the airships are depicted as yōkai (supernatural creatures), dropping bombs from numerous legs. The introduction of new weaponry clearly stimulated Itō’s imagination, leading him to invent novel monstrous forms. As iconic symbols of London, Itō includes both St. Paul’s Cathedral and the Palace of Westminster (Parliament) in the background.

German airships, commonly known as Zeppelins, could fly at altitudes of up to 11,000 feet, carry approximately two tons of bombs, and approach targets in relative silence. On the night of September 8, 1915, the Zeppelin L13 penetrated the heart of London, dropping nearly two tons of explosives, including the first 660-pound bomb ever used against England, and igniting fires throughout the City. At the time, the damage was estimated at £530,000, making it the most destructive Zeppelin raid of the war to date. That night, 22 Londoners were killed and 87 injured. Over the course of the war, a total of 52 Zeppelin raids on England claimed the lives of 556 civilians and wounded 1,357.

References:

Kurakata Shunsuke 倉方俊輔, commentary on Itō Chūta’s sketch “152,” in Itō Chūta 伊東忠太 and Sugimura Kōtarō 杉村廣太郎, 阿修羅帖 [Ashura-chō], 5 vols. (Tokyo: Yumani Shobō ゆまに書房, 2013), vol. 2. Translation and editorial revisions of Kurakata Shunsuke’s commentary are my own, produced with AI assistance.

Douglas H. Robinson, "Zeppelins in the German Navy, 1914–18," United States Naval Institute Proceedings 82, no. 7 (July 1956): 641, https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/1956/july/zeppelins-german-navy-1914-18. 

"First World War: The First Blitz," Historic England, https://historicengland.org.uk/research/current/discover-and-understand/military/first-world-war-home-front/air/first-blitz/.

Translation of Sugimura Kōtarō's commentary and notes on Sketch 153, dated September 15, 1915: Austrian Ambassador to the United States Expelled

Delusions are inexhaustible; I vow to end them.*

— Sojinkan [sealed]

*The second of the Four Great Bodhisattva Vows 

Itō's sketch depicts the United States (米), broom in hand, getting ready to sweep the Austrian (墺) Ambassador, Constantin Dumba, out of the United States.

On September 9, U.S. Secretary of State Lansing requested that Austria recall its ambassador after the  revelation that the ambassador had conspired to incite a strike among Austrian laborers working in American munitions factories. His objective was to disrupt the supply of war materials from the United States to the Allied Powers. 

The New York Times

September 6, 1915 (page 3)

DUMBA ADMITS PLOT TO CRIPPLE PLANTS

LENOX, Mass., Sept. 5. — Dr. Constantin Theodor Dumba, the Austro-Hungarian Ambassador, admitted today that he gave James F. J. Archibald, an American newspaper correspondent, a letter for delivery to Foreign Minister Burian in Vienna, in which he proposed certain measures to be taken to hamper the manufacture of munitions for the Allies in America.

AWAITING DUMBA LETTER.

Actual Document Not Yet Delivered at Our London Embassy.

Special Cable to The New York Times

Dr. Dumba's letter, which was written Aug. 20, ... contained this passage: “We can disorganize and hold up for months, if not entirely prevent, the manufacture of munitions in Bethlehem and the Middle West, which, in the opinion of the German military attaché, is of great importance and amply outweighs the expenditure of money involved.” 

The New York Times

September 17, 1915 (front page)

REQUEST FOR DUMBA RECALL DELIVERED

Penfield Cables He Received Message Sept. 10 and Sent It at Once to Foreign Office.

Special to The New York Times

WASHINGTON, Sept. 16. — Secretary of State Lansing announced tonight that a cablegram had just been received from Ambassador Penfield, at Vienna, informing the State Department that the communication from the United States requesting the Austrian Government to recall Dr. Dumba, the Austro-Hungarian Ambassador, had been received and had been delivered to the Austro-Hungarian Government.

Ambassador Penfield’s dispatch stated that the communication was received in Vienna on Sept. 10 and was immediately delivered to the Austro-Hungarian Foreign Office.

References:

Excerpt from "Dumba Admits Plot To Cripple Plants," New York Times, September 6, 1915, p. 1, TimesMachine https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1915/09/06/104653756.html?pageNumber=1.

Excerpt from "Request For Dumba Recall Delivered," New York Times, September 17, 1915, p. 1, TimesMachine https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1915/09/17/105040495.html?pageNumber=1.

Notes on Sketch 154, dated September 18, 1915: Pinsk Falls

Another city falls in the fierce German offensive, this time Pinsk, a city in present-day Belarus, captured by German forces on September 15. Itō’s sketch vividly depicts the event: a ferocious lion, symbolizing Germany, bites down on a blue ball labeled "Pinsk." A personified Russia flees in panic, having thrown Pinsk to the lion. He narrowly dodges the lion’s sharp claws while clutching a tray still holding other balls, each representing cities that may soon share Pinsk’s fate.

The image draws on the Japanese idiom shishi funjin (獅子奮迅), meaning "with the force of a charging lion," a phrase previously evoked in Sketch 104. The lion motif will reappear in Sketch 155, as the city of Vilnius awaits its destiny.

Notes on Sketch 155, dated September 19, 1915: Vilna Falls

In this follow-on sketch to Sketch 154, the Russian figure has gained a few steps on the German lion and looks a bit more composed. While Vilna (present-day Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania) fell to the Germans on September 18, Russia's retreat from the city and environs was a strategic one intended to conserve its own strength while causing the German army to exhaust and disperse its forces.

The New York Times

September 24, 1915 (page 2)

GERMAN VILNA LOSS PUT AT 250,000 MEN

LONDON, Friday, Sept. 24. — Southeast of Vilna the Russian rear guards, which made possible the escape of the main Vilna army from the German net, are now falling back, and in doing so have left some prisoners in the hands of the Germans. A Russian estimate places the German losses in the Vilna operations at 250,000.

Escaped Army Fighting Vigorously

Special Cable to The New York Times

PETROGRAD, Sept. 23, (Dispatch to The London Daily News.) —  Experts with the General Staff say the Russians in the course of the fighting during the successful retreat from the Vilna region inflicted terrible losses on the enemy, and that the new position on the front is altogether favorable. 

References:

Excerpt from "German Vilna Loss Put At 250,000 Men," New York Times, September 24, 1915, p. 2, TimesMachine https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1915/09/24/100177576.html?pageNumber=2.

Excerpt from "Escaped Army Fighting Vigorously," New York Times, September 24, 1915, p. 2, TimesMachine https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1915/09/24/100177576.html?pageNumber=2. 

Notes on Sketch 156, dated September 19, 1915: Bandits Arise Throughout Shandong

Itō’s sketch was likely created in response to reports in mid-September 1915 concerning the activities of the Republic of China's Council of State, the official forum tasked with deliberating the possible restoration of the monarchy. This body provided a thin veneer of constitutional legitimacy for President Yuan Shikai’s ambition to assume the imperial throne.

The imagery depicts five figures: two of them, one armed with a rifle and the other wearing a colorful breastplate and wielding a qinglongdao, a polearm with a crescent-shaped blade, are handing out small coins to three ragged-looking men armed with bamboo spears. The breastplate on the polearm-bearing figure contains the characters 練勇 (liànyǒng), meaning "trained braves," a term historically associated with local militias.

Both pro-monarchy forces and anti-Yuan factions employed bribes and intimidation to gain the support of local militias and outlaw bands, particularly in the populous Shandong region, as well as in other provinces. Itō’s illustration also conveys the broader atmosphere of disorder and political instability that continued to grip China during this period.

Translation of Sakai Toshihiko's commentary and notes on Sketch 157, dated September 26, 1915: Turks Massacre Armenians

When a man wants to murder a tiger, he calls it sport; when the tiger wants to murder him, he calls it ferocity. — Bernard Shaw*

*The complete quotation, from Shaw's Maxims for Revolutionists — an appendix to Man and Superman (1903), reads: “When a man wants to murder a tiger, he calls it sport; when the tiger wants to murder him, he calls it ferocity. The distinction between Crime and Justice is no greater.”

Itō’s sketch depicts a figure representing Turkey (the Ottoman Empire) raising a club over a defenseless person bound to a stake, his symbolic portrayal of the Armenian massacres.

The beginning of what many nations recognize as the Armenian Genocide, perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire against the Armenian people, is generally dated to April 24, 1915, when hundreds of Armenian intellectuals and community leaders were arrested in Constantinople and deported to the interior.

In September 1915, the Ottoman authorities formally legalized the confiscation of property belonging to deported Armenians. That same month, French and British naval vessels evacuated more than 4,000 Armenian survivors from Musa Dagh, following a month-long armed resistance against Ottoman attempts to deport roughly 6,000 villagers to the Syrian interior.

Estimates of the death toll from the Ottoman actions range from several hundred thousand to more than one million.

Notes on Sketch 158, dated September 29, 1915: Bandits Rampant in Gansu

Itō's sketch depicts a ragtag band of armed men, representing an anti-Yuan militia in China's northwestern Gansu province, where opposition forces were active in late 1915. These groups made hastily arranged alliances with local militias and irregulars to disrupt Yuan Shikai's bid to restore the monarchy.

Following on from Sketch 156, the work reflects contemporary criticism that Yuan cloaked his imperial ambitions in "constitutional" forms while much of the countryside descended into disorder. 

Translation of Narusawa Kinbei's commentary and notes on Sketch 159, dated September 27, 1915: Bulgaria’s Position Remains Ambiguous

I want to eat fugu,
but I value my life.
The chimaki’s right before me,
yet my teeth won’t bite true.

(Cheer)
Buru, buru, buru…
Self-interest, self-interest, self-interest, self-interest,
Ya! Ya! Ya!
Bu-lu-ga-ri-a!

Hooray! Hooray!
Ra! Ra! Ra!

— Reisen

Itō's sketch depicts Bulgaria (勃), with a twisted headband tied firmly around its head, watching the fighting between the Central Powers (cartouche reading Germany/Austria, 獨墺) and the Allied Powers (聯合軍) out of the corner of its eye, waiting for the right moment to join the fray.

Unknown to Itō at the time, Bulgaria had already signed a secret alliance treaty with Germany and Austria-Hungary three weeks earlier, on September 6, 1915. One month later, on October 14, 1915, in exchange for guarantees of sovereignty over Macedonia, territory awarded to Serbia after the Second Balkan War, Bulgaria entered the war on the side of the Central Powers. 

References:

Kurakata Shunsuke 倉方俊輔, commentary on Itō Chūta’s sketch “159,” in Itō Chūta 伊東忠太 and Sugimura Kōtarō 杉村廣太郎, 阿修羅帖 [Ashura-chō], 5 vols. (Tokyo: Yumani Shobō ゆまに書房, 2013), vol. 2.

Notes on Sketch 160, dated September 30, 1915: Allied Forces Make a Modest Advance

Itō depicts two muscular demons, representing Germany (獨) and the combined French–British forces (佛英), locked in a battle of equal strength.

While Russia continued its "Great Retreat" on the Eastern Front (see Sketch 136), Britain and France launched two major offensives on the Western Front on September 25, 1915: the Second Battle of Champagne against German positions in Champagne, and the Third Battle of Artois against German positions in Artois. By September 30, the date of Itō’s sketch, the Allied forces had captured sections of the German front line. However, both offensives soon stalled, devolving into a trench-warfare stalemate.  

Notes on Sketch 161, dated October 4, 1915: Russian Forces Halt German Advance

The German lion, seen earlier in Sketches 154 and 155, reappears here, this time reeling from a powerful blow delivered by a revitalized Russia.

The major German offensive on the Eastern Front, launched in May 1915, forced the Russian army to withdraw from Poland and pushed the front to a line connecting Wilna (present-day Vilnius, Lithuania; Sketch 155) and Czernowitz (present-day Chernivtsi, Ukraine). There, the Russians brought the German advance to a halt, marking the end of the "Great Retreat."

Through the winter of 1915–1916, the Eastern Front remained relatively quiet as the Russian army rebuilt its strength and the Central Powers shifted their focus to the Western Front.

References:

Kurakata Shunsuke 倉方俊輔, commentary on Itō Chūta’s sketch “161,” in Itō Chūta 伊東忠太 and Sugimura Kōtarō 杉村廣太郎, 阿修羅帖 [Ashura-chō], 5 vols. (Tokyo: Yumani Shobō ゆまに書房, 2013), vol. 2.

Timothy C. Dowling, "Eastern Front," in 1914-1918-online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War, ed. Ute Daniel et al. (Berlin: Freie Universität Berlin, 2014), last modified October 8, 2014, https://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/eastern-front/#toc_1915_breakthrough_and_retreat.