Suzuki Shōnen (1849–1918) 
Celebrating Victory 
Japan, dated 1904 
Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper 
Gift of Terry Welch, 2021 (2021-03-106)

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From the date of 1904, we know that this painting was made during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905. The war marked an important turning point in world history. It was Japan’s first victory over a European country and established Japan as a major international military force. It also weakened the Tsarist government, which fell in 1917, and furthered Japan’s influence over Korea, which was forcibly annexed in 1910, leading to further expansion into Manchuria in 1931, and ultimately to Japan’s involvement in WWII. 
 
The war centered around Port Arthur, which Russia leased from China as its key year-round port in the East. From Shōnen’s identification of the time of year as “calamus month” (a traditional name for the fifth month), the victory being celebrated might be the Battle of Nanshan (May 25-26), a brutal land battle that was key to Japan’s siege surrounding the port. A crowd of men in mixed Western and Japanese dress—including military uniforms—run through the street spreading word of the victory. Shōnen has cleverly repurposed his artist’s seals as the round lanterns they carry. 
 
Shōnen’s father Hyakunen founded a major painting studio in Kyoto in the late Edo period (1615–1868); Shōnen inherited both the studio and his father’s impressive reputation. One of Kyoto’s most influential artists, Shōnen became a professor at the Kyoto Prefecture Painting School in 1881.