It is well known that Meiji era woodblock print designers Kobayashi Kiyochika 小林清親 (1847-1915) and Toyohara Chikanobu 豊原周延 (1838-1912) fought during the Meiji restoration on the side of the...Show moreIt is well known that Meiji era woodblock print designers Kobayashi Kiyochika 小林清親 (1847-1915) and Toyohara Chikanobu 豊原周延 (1838-1912) fought during the Meiji restoration on the side of the Tokugawa shogunate. However, because the majority of academic secondary literature on prints tends to focus on the Meiji government's grand 'modernisation' project rather than dissenting voices, it has not been widely discussed to what extent their history as Tokugawa loyalists is expressed in their oeuvre. This thesis attempts to take a fresh approach by reexamining the early works by Kiyochika and Chikanobu. A thorough scrutiny of both visual object and historic context will show that there is more to the Meiji print than meets the eye.Show less
