1904 Enomoto Satirical Manga; Russian Empire, Russo-Japanese War

This is a 1904 serio-comic tour de force, with vivid colors and rich symbolism, made by Enomoto Matsunosuke, satirizing the geopolitics of the day in the opening phase of the Russo-Japanese War. While cheering on Japan in the conflict, Enomoto is also having a laugh at the alliances and efforts required to exterminate the 'spider' of Tsarist Russia. This comic was part of an outpouring of popular patriotic images, poetry, songs, and other cultural production in Japan after the start of the war. Enomoto was prescient in his portrayal of the Russian Empire as tottering, beset by domestic unrest and surrounded by unfriendly powers.

Personification of Nations

The spider that is the subject of the comic is unnamed but understood to be Tsarist Russia, under attack from several directions. On its back, poking it with a spear and a pickaxe, respectively, are characters representing students and nihilists.

Figures in military garb represent the various kingdoms and nations of Europe and Asia. The spider has nabbed Persia and has Tibet in its pincers, while Finland is attempting to escape (Finland had only been ruled by the Tsar for less than a century and suffered a terrible famine in the 1860s) and Poland is fighting back with a sword (the following year, Poland rose in revolt against the Tsar). Below and to the left, Turkey (the Ottoman Empire) and India raise their swords to fend off the spider, while a fallen figure representing Arabia reels in fear.

To the right, the large Qing Dynasty impotently tries to counter-attack with a blowgun. One of the spider's arms reaching towards Korea has been severed, while a Korean official sits by placidly. Southeast Asian kingdoms (Burma, Siam, Annam) cheer on Japan, holding Japanese flags. Other major powers, including the United States, either sit by, interested but neutral, or enthusiastically support Japan, especially Britain, Japan's ally since 1902. Most significantly, Japan is depicted as a heroic samurai archer slinging arrows at the spider and landing a direct hit on its head.

East Asia as a Theater for European Power Struggles

Only a handful of countries are shown as being concerned or indifferent to the conflict, most notably France, which had developed an alliance with Russia to counter Germany in the years before the Russo-Japanese War. The French had also provided loans to the Russians, most notably to build the Trans-Aral Railway, and France is depicted here as a despondent figure holding what appears to be a ledger noting the money owed by Russia. France had disapproved of Russian policy in East Asia and correctly determined that it was likely to provoke Japan, pointing out that the Franco-Russian alliance did not extend to Asia.

In fact, it was Germany, or at least Kaiser Wilhelm II, that had been most supportive of Russia's aggressive stance in East Asia. Wilhelm frequently expounded on his belief in the 'yellow peril' presented by a Japanese-led Asia in letters to his cousin Nicholas II and practically encouraged him to start a war with Japan. Thinking himself a master strategist, Wilhelm hoped that pushing Russia into a war with Japan would rearrange the entire global order by prompting a German-Russian alliance and challenging Britain's primacy. However, the Kaiser's advisors and the German public were far less enthusiastic about joining Russia's war in Asia, something Nicholas failed to appreciate, as he prolonged the conflict far after it was sensible to do so because he expected a German intervention. These complicated factors explain why the figure representing Germany is holding the blue cross on a white background flag of the Russian military which has been superimposed on a Japanese military flag.

The Beleaguered Baltic Fleet

The ship towards top-left, also pierced by a Japanese arrow, represents the Russian Baltic Fleet, which Enomoto correctly predicted would become involved in the conflict in Asia. Just days after this map's publication, on August 10, 1904, the Russian Pacific Fleet attempted to escape the Japanese siege of Port Arthur at the Battle of the Yellow Sea, the first battle between steel battleship fleets in naval history. Although both sides suffered losses, the Russians failed to break the siege. What remained of the Pacific Fleet was still bottled up at Port Arthur while the Japanese continued to make gradual but costly progress against Russian fortifications on land. With little hope of relief in sight, the Russian General Anatoly Stessel, commander of the Port Arthur garrison, surrendered to the Japanese in early January 1905.

Following the Battle of the Yellow Sea but before Port Arthur's surrender, the Baltic Fleet was ordered to East Asia, a voyage plagued with poor planning, bad luck, and discontent among the sailors even before it left harbor. After accidentally firing on British fishing trawlers and nearly starting another war, the fleet took months to round the Cape of Good Hope and steam towards East Asia, arriving too late to save Port Arthur. With nowhere to dock, the fleet attempted to slip past the Japanese and reach Vladivostok. However, the Japanese Navy, which had months to prepare, ambushed the Russians in the Straits of Tsushima off Korea and destroyed or captured the entire fleet. It was the last major engagement of the war, a deep embarrassment to the Russian Empire, and a key catalyst of the Russian Revolution of 1905.

Russo-Japanese War

The Russo-Japanese War, fought from February 8, 1904 - September 5, 1905, pitted Imperial Japan against Tsarist Russia over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and Korea. Both Russia and Japan had grand visions for the region. Russia traditionally had only one Pacific port, Vladivostok, which was operational only during the warm summer months. In 1898, Russia coerced China, then weakened after the First Sino-Japanese War (1894 - 1895), to lease Port Arthur, a warm water port on the Liaodang Peninsula. They also negotiated a right-of-way to connect Port Arthur to the China Eastern Railway, which ran from nearby Dalian (Dalny) to Harbin, where it connected to the Trans-Siberian Railway. Russia, eager to expand southwards from Siberia, considered Port Arthur the cornerstone of a sphere of influence covering China, Manchuria, and Korea. Japan had its own Imperial ambitions and saw itself as the natural overlord in East Asia. Korea and Manchuria in particular were important as steppingstones into China, with its seemly unlimited resources.

There was initially some attempt at negotiation between the imperialist powers, but Tsar Nicholas II arrogantly believed it impossible that Japan could challenge a major European power. Japan proved him wrong, launching a surprise attack on the Russian Eastern Fleet stationed at Port Arthur. The war had been very costly to both sides, but on the battlefield the Russians were defeated again and again, humiliating the Tsar. After the destruction of the Russian Fleet at Tsushima mentioned above, U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt arbitrated a peace, confirmed by the Treaty of Portsmouth. The treaty recognized Japan's claims on Korea and called for the evacuation of Russian forces from Manchuria, including from Port Arthur.

The overwhelming victory of Imperial Japan came as a surprise to international observers, being the first major military victory in the modern era of an Asian over European power. The consequences transformed the balance of power, confirmed Japan as the pre-eminent power in East Asia.

Publication History and Census

This map was printed on August 1, 1904 (Meiji 37) and published two days later, on August 3. It was printed and published by Enomoto Matsunosuke (榎本松之助, here with 柗 as a variant of 松). It is only known to be held by the National Museum for Japanese History and has no market record.