The works of Sakubei Yamamoto
Various Social Conditions

The Battle at the River Crossing Site of Anseong during the First Sino-Japanese War in 1894
July 1966

Meiji Niju Shichinen Nisshin Senso Anjo Watashi
[The Battle at the River Crossing Site of Anseong during the First Sino-Japanese War in 1894]
38.0 x 54.1 cm Painting in Watercolors and Ink

An Extract from Lyrics of a Song at the Right Side
Wataru ni yasuki Anjo no na wa itazura no mono naru ka.

Though they said it was easy to cross the river at Anseong because the name [in Chinese characters] could be read as yasuki ("easy" in Japanese), it was really an ironic name for us.

A bugler Kohei Kiguchi met a noble death in Anseong, Korea. He had fought under Captain Naoomi Matsuzaki of the 12th Company of the 21st Infantry Regiment which was on the right of the striking force. (He had got a gunshot wound through his neck, but he kept on making bugle calls for marching until he died.) He had held on to his bugle even when he was dead. It was said that he met a heroic death. This picture shows the fierce battle at Anjo Watashi (Crossing Site of the Anseong River).
(Another bugler Genjiro Shiragami reportedly died in the same way as Kohei Kiguchi, but I do not know whether they were the same person, or they died in the same way in different battles. I have been thinking about this question since I was a kid. Some people said that they were the same person.)


Translation Assisted by Mr. Nathan Johndro

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