Brave Harada Jukichi opens Gembu Gate at Pyongyang

Artist Mizuno Toshikata (Japanese, 1866 - 1908)

Place of ManufactureAsia

Mediumwoodcut

DimensionsOverall (sheet; image: 35.3 x 70.1 cm): 36.5 x 71.8 cm

ClassificationsFINE ART

Credit LineHarold and Vera Mortimer-Lamb Purchase Fund

Object number1991.042.007

DescriptionAfter putting up a stout resistance, the city gate at Pyongyang was finally penetrated after a Japanese soldier named Harada Jukichi scaled the wall and opened the gate to the waiting Japanese army. He immediately became a folk hero and his exploits were celebrated in poems and prose. However, the fame was too much for him and he became a drunkard and was employed in the theatre to recount his heroism. There is also a strong possibility that it was not him, but a soldier named Matsuma Akitaro who was the first to scale the wall at Pyongyang. However, since Harada had already been decorated, it would have been too embarrassing for the military authorities to change the records. So Matsuma was intimidated into keeping quiet and for the rest of his life working in his father's antique store.

Status

Not on view