Postal Hōchi Newspaper no. 645, Englishman raping a wine shopkeeper's daughter (Yūbin Hōchi shinbun, roppyaku yonjū gogō) 1875

This color woodblock print, by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, captures a scene of chaos and violence. Note the overturned table, the fallen sake bottle, and the figures in disarray. These are not merely elements of a chaotic scene; they are symbols deeply rooted in cultural anxieties. Consider the motif of the fallen woman, here defended by another woman from the advances of a man in western attire. We see echoes of this across cultures and epochs – from classical depictions of abduction to more contemporary portrayals of vulnerability. This image taps into a collective memory of protection and violated innocence. The figures convey the power of the human form, and the dynamic composition engages the viewer, evoking a feeling of turmoil. Observe how this struggle, frozen in time, acts as a potent reminder of the cyclical nature of history, where themes of conflict, dominance, and resistance continually resurface, each time reshaped by the prevailing cultural context.