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Witnessing War: Ogawa Kazumasa and Visual Culture in Early Twentieth-Century Japan

Museum of Art Museum of Art

Exhibition: Witnessing War: Ogawa Kazumasa and Visual Culture in Early Twentieth-Century Japan

Dates:

Location:

Markell Gallery
This exhibition explores the social, cultural, and political changes taking place in Japan during the Meiji Restoration (1868–1912) through the work of Ogawa Kazumasa.

Selected Works

black and white photograph showing a person with a bandaged head sitting on a hospital bed occupied by two patientson a hos

Russian Soldiers Lodged in the Kaiping Hospital, 1904–1905, photogravure by Ogawa Kazumasa. º¬Ðß²ÝÑо¿ÊÒ Museum of Art, Museum Purchase, Lloyd O. and Marjorie Strong Coulter Fund, 2023.7.12.

Sepia photo of a smoke filled field with soldiers and a cannon

Cannonade of the Second Battery of the Thirteenth Field Artillery Regiment from a Hill North of Wenchiatun, 1904, photogravure by Ogawa Kazumasa. º¬Ðß²ÝÑо¿ÊÒ Museum of Art, Museum Purchase, Lloyd O. and Marjorie Strong Coulter Fund, 2023.7.1.

 

Sepia photograph showing three soldiers in front a stone building with a wooden door  Two people hold rifles, the third is half-lying down near the door.

A Russian Prisoner of War, 1904–1905, photogravure by Ogawa Kazumasa. º¬Ðß²ÝÑо¿ÊÒ Museum of Art, Museum Purchase, Lloyd O. and Marjorie Strong Coulter Fund, 2023.7.10.

Sepia photo of a train in a barren country landscape, with many soldiers surrounding the train.

Railway Transportation in the Vicinity of Wangchiatun, 1904–1905, photogravure by Ogawa Kazumasa. º¬Ðß²ÝÑо¿ÊÒ Museum of Art, Museum Purchase, Lloyd O. and Marjorie Strong Coulter Fund, 2023.7.5.

Sepia photograh of a large machine gun in a structure, nestled near bags of sand

A Machine Gun on the Old Enceinte Behind the North Fort of Peiyin Hill, 1904–1905, photogravure by Ogawa Kazumasa. º¬Ðß²ÝÑо¿ÊÒ Museum of Art, Museum Purchase, Lloyd O. and Marjorie Strong Coulter Fund, 2023.7.76.

 

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This exhibition explores the social, cultural, and political changes taking place in Japan during the Meiji Restoration (1868–1912) through the work of Ogawa Kazumasa. One of Japan’s most prolific early photographers and publishers, Ogawa’s oeuvre included rural landscapes, geisha in Tokyo, lush flowers, ancient temples, and international conflicts—a visual record that documented the tensions of a society in transition. This exhibition focuses on a 32-volume photographic album Ogawa published featuring scenes from the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905). Featuring selections that show field hospitals, prisoners of war, exploding cannon-fire, troops on campaigns, and more, Witnessing War explores the connections between photography, propaganda, mass media, imperialism, and global conflict at the turn of the twentieth century.