Japanese Prints, XIXth Triptych From Chikanobu: Seikanron Debate From 1873

Oban
Nishiki-e
Meiji
1877

This 1877 print depicts the 1873 Seikanron debates in the Court Council of the Meiji government on whether to invade Korea for ignoring the diplomatic missions of the Meiji government and "insulting" the Japanese nation. The leaders of the opposing factions, Iwakura and Saigō, are at the center of the triptych, surrounded by their followers. Seventeen red rectangular cartouches give the names of the characters taking part in the debate, all members of the Council of the Court (or Council of State).
Among them:
-Shinohara Kunimoto (left side, seated foreground) a longtime friend of Saigō Takamori and former major general and commander of the Imperial Guards who resigned after Saigō left the Imperial government.
-Saigō Takamori (middle part, middle three-quarter face and bearded) hero of the battles that ended the Tokugawa shogunate in 1868, inaugurating the Meiji government that made Japan a modern nation. Court advisor and leader of the Seikanron faction pleading to send one last diplomatic mission, led by himself, to Korea before launching an invasion. Saigō knew the mission would fail, with its failure serving as the final justification for the Japanese invasion.
-Kirino Toshiaki (middle part, back and right of Takamori) brigadier general during the early years of the Imperial Japanese Army, he joined Takamori Saigō's forces during the Satsuma Rebellion, participating in the march north to Kumamoto . Kirino stayed with Saigō until the end, where he was finally killed on the battlefield.
-Iwakura Tomomi (middle part, standing top right) Right-wing minister who led the "Iwakura Mission", a two-year trip to visit European countries and the United States, renegotiate "unequal treaties" and collect information for the modernization of Japan. Major player in defeating Saigō's plan and preventing the invasion of Korea.
-Okubo Toshimichi (right part, bearded, seated in the foreground) member of the "Iwakura mission" who sided with Iwakura against Saigō. As Minister of the Interior he suppressed the regional rebellions of the old class of samurai which ended with the rebellion of Satsuma. He was assassinated by a former samurai in 1878.
-Sanjo Sanetomi (right part, seated in the foreground) imperial envoy. He sided with Iwakura in the debate against Saigō. He assumed the position of dajo daijin (grand minister of state) in 1871.

The Seikanron debate literally: "Debate on the conquest of Korea" was an important political debate that took place in Japan in 1873. Takamori Saigō and its supporters insisted that Japan confront Korea because of the latter's refusal to recognize the legitimacy of Emperor Meiji as head of state of the Empire of Japan and for having insulted and expelled the Japanese representatives sent to establish commercial and diplomatic relations. The option of war against Korea was also an ideal opportunity to occupy the thousands of idle samurai who had lost most of their income and social position in the new Meiji social and economic order. These samurai posed a threat to the government, and as a samurai himself, Saigō was concerned about their situation.