Description

Kido Takayoshi (1833-1877), also called Kido Kōin, known as one of the Three Great Nobles of the Restoration, sits on the right speaking with an unidentified samurai.

Kido, the son of a doctor serving in the Hagi Clan, worked tirelessly for the sonno joi undo (movement to revere the emperor and expel the barbarians) which sought to overthrow of the shogunate. After the Meiji Restoration he served in multiple government positions advocating the gradual establishment of constitutional government and in 1871, he took part in the diplomatic Iwakura Mission, seeking legitimacy for the Meiji state overseas, as deputy envoy. - Source: National Diet Library Online https://www.ndl.go.jp/portrait/e/datas/65/ [accessed 8-16-2023]

Thirty Great Loyalists of Early Modern Times

The eleven extant prints comprising the seemingly incomplete series Thirty Great Loyalists of Early Modern Times depict figures active in the mid/late Edo era and early Meiji era who displayed great loyalty to the Emperor and, thereby, the nation. Issued in 1942 when the war in the Pacific was raging, the patriotic theme of these prints was clear. Nine of the eleven extant prints portray a famous incident or anecdote in a Great Loyalist's life and two prints deal specifically with the 1860 assassination of the shōgunate's Chief Minister Ii Naosuke (1815-1860). Each print was issued in a folder which also contained a written commentary. 

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