Thirty Great Loyalists of Early Modern Times

The Eleven Extant Prints

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Kinnō bunka shin kōkai [Society for the Promotion of Loyalist Culture]

The series was conceived under the direction of the patriotic organization Kinnō bunka shinkōkai (Society for the Promotion of Loyalist Culture), about which little is known, other than their disbandment after Japan's surrender. For at least some prints in the series, the Society collaborated with the publishing business of Watanabe Shōzaburō, whose "G" type seal is embossed in the margin of several prints along with the embossed seal of the Society, as shown below.* From the series' name we can assume that thirty prints were planned, although only eleven prints are extant, as shown above.

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All of the artists for the eleven prints were nihonga (Japanese-style) painters and their involvement might either indicate their patriotism or just a desire to stay in the good graces of the authorities during a time when artistic freedom was being greatly curtailed and artistic output directed to serve the war effort. Watanabe's involvement may also point to his desire to stay in the good graces of the authorities who controlled access to the materials he needed to keep his woodblock print publishing business going during the war. While painting, particularly realistic looking Western painting in large formats, was the cutting edge of war art, prints served as the soft-propaganda media, focusing on building patriotism and support for the war effort on the home front. For a further explanation of the role of woodblock prints in the war effort see Prints During the War Years 1937-1945, the Occupation (and beyond).

* Watanabe, as did so many print artists and print publishers, joined the patriotic Japanese Public Service Print Association (Nihon hanga hōkōkai) when it was formed in 1943. The association fell under the auspices of the Imperial Support Society (Taisei Yokusankai), a governmental organization designed to unify nationalist groups in Japan. Chaired by Onchi Kōshirō, its purpose was to support the war effort through creating prints with patriotic themes. Beyond fulfilling one's patriotic duty, membership in the organization provided access to scarce materials needed to create prints.

Markings Appearing in Print Margins

Of the four markings below, the seal of the Society for the Promotion of Loyalist Culture appears in the bottom of the right margin on each of this collection's print. The seal of the publisher Watanabe Shōzaburō appears in the left margin of two of the prints, the "nagaya saku" seal appears on four prints and the "sekioka saku" seal appears on one print. The nagaya saku and seikoka saku seals never appear on the same print and never appear on prints bearing the Watanabe seal.

A Brief Overview of the Historical Events and Figures Depicted

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Gathering at Atagoyama 愛宕山集躡の図 (1860) - prior to the assassination of the shōgunate's Chief Minister Ii Naosuke (1815-1860), the 18 assassins (17 rōnin from Mito and 1 from Satsuma), gathered at the Atago Shrine on Mt. Atago, on the street leading to Edo Castle's Sakurada Gate, to prepare for their ambush and murder of the Chief Minister.

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Heroic Deeds at Sakurada Gate 櫻田義擧・門外激撃の図  (1860) - on a snowy day in March 1860 (Ansei 7), 18 rōnin from Mito and Satsuma, part of the shishi (men of spirit) who claimed to be imperial loyalists, attacked and assassinated Ii Naosuke (1815-1860), daimyō of the Hikone Domain and the tairō (chief minister) of the Edo shōgunate, outside Sakurada Gate of  Edo Castle. The assassination was triggered by Naosuke's decision to sign a trade treaty with America without the emperor's permission and his imprisonment of Yoshida Shōin 吉田松陰 (1830-1859) and other imperial loyalists opposed to the treaty.

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Gamō Kunpei 蒲生君平 (1768-1813) - known as one of the "Three Eccentrics of the Kansei Era" along with Takayama Hikokurō 高山彦九郎 (1747-1793) and Hayashi Shihei 林子平, (1738-1793), he compiled the "Sanryō shi" (Record of the Imperial Tombs) in 1808, one of the foundations of Imperial Loyalist Theory. Instrumental in the beginnings of the rise of nationalism in Japan, he was an advocate of the Sonnōjōi 尊皇攘夷 doctrine, which advocated the overthrow of the Tokugawa shōgunate and restoration of real power to the emperor of Japan. In 1942, his grave was made a national historic site.

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Iwakura Tomomi 岩倉具視 (1825-1883) - a Kyoto nobleman, a central figure in the Sonnōjōi Movement to restore the Emperor to power, and a leader of the 1868 Meiji Restoration, he became the Meiji government's leading statesman, heading the 50 member Iwakura Mission (1871-1873) to the United States and Europe to study modern government and administration to secure Japan's equal place with Western countries.

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Sanjō Sanetomi 三條実美 (1837-1891) - a Kyoto nobleman and a prominent figure in the Sonnōjōi Movement, he became the Meiji government's first Chancellor of the Realm (equivalent to the position of Prime Minister.) In his farewell speech to the Iwakura Mission he stated: "Exchanges with foreign countries are decisive for the stability or crisis of the state, and the abilities of the envoys are decisive for either glorifying or disgracing the state. Now, after the Restoration, we are going to achieve an equal place among the countries of the world..."

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Hashimoto Sanai 橋本左内 (1834-1859) - a Fukui samurai who lived in the last days of the Tokugawa shōgunate. At the age of 15, he wrote the famous Keihatsuroku 啓發録 ("Treatise on Enlightenment"). Hashimoto was a strong proponent of opening up Japan to the West while keeping Japan's "own ethics and morals." While he supported early policies by the shōgunate that contributed to opening up Japan, he later turned against it, supporting efforts to restore the emperor to power. He was executed at the age of 25 in 1858 during the Ansei Purge conducted by the shōgun's Senior Minister, Ii Naosuke, against certain anti-shōgunate reformers. 

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Rai San'yō 頼山陽 (1780-1832) - famous for writing his "Unofficial History of Japan" (Nihon gaishi), completed in 1827, which tells the history of the shōgunate from the 12th century to the Tokugawa dynasty in the 17th century, he was a major influence on the Sonnōjōi Movement and the rise of emperor-centered nationalism at the end of the Tokugawa period. He died from tuberculosis while writing at his desk.  

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Kido Takayoshi 木戸孝允 (1833-1877) - better known by the name Kido Kōin (木戸 こういん), he  worked tirelessly for the Sonnōjōi Movement to revere the emperor and expel the barbarians arguing for the overthrow of the shōgunate. After the 1868 Meiji Restoration (restoration of Imperial rule), he was appointed san'yo (senior councilor) and poured his efforts into hanseki hokan (the return of the lands and people to the Emperor). He took part in the Iwakura Mission (1871-1873) as deputy envoy. Later, he held important posts including monbukyo (Education Minister) and naimukyo (Home Minister), advocating for the gradual establishment of constitutional government.

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Tokugawa Mitsukuni 徳川光圀 (1628-1701) - a daimyō of Mito responsible for assembling the Mitogaku scholars to compile (between 1657-1906) the monumental Dai Nihon shi, a history of Japan, which is credited with spurring the rise of nationalism in Japan. He was popularly known by the name Mito Kōmon 水戸黄門.

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Kiyokawa Hachirō 清河八郎 (1830-1863) - born in the Shōnai Domain, Dewa Province (present day Yamagata Prefecture), in 1862 he formed a group called the Rōshigumi 浪士組, made up of rōnin, with funding from the Tokugawa shōgunate, ostensibly to protect the Tokugawa shōgun in Kyoto and prepare for military action against Western countries. His real goal, however, was to support the Sonnōjōi Movement to restore the Emperor to power; in his words he wanted to "turn the Realm upside down."  Kiyokawa is best known as the instigator and planner of the assassination of the Dutch interpreter Henry Heusken in January 1861. Fearful of his power, Kiyokawa was assassinated by the shōgunate in May 1863.

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Tomita Taihō 富田大鳳 (1762-1803) - born in Kumamoto, Tomita was a Confucian scholar, physician and author of Daitō tekigai chūgihen 大東敵愾忠義編 ("Biography of Loyalists in Japan"). He embraced the Confucian ideal "revere the king, reject the hegemon" and played a prominent role in the Kumamoto imperial loyalist party (Kumamoto kinnōtō).

Prints in the Collection