Photographic artefacts of war 1904–1905: the Russo-Japanese war as transnational media event

Abstract

The Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905 became a key political event of modern history, not only because its unexpected outcome caused numerous ‘global repercussions’ (Ian Nish), but because it ‘shattered the geopolitical monopoly of modernity’ (Harry Harootunian). On the other hand, the war formatted a long-neglected and historically specific photographic vision of technological warfare that persisted across national, regional and cultural borders and subsequently transformed the Russo-Japanese War into a transnational media event.

Keywords:

• transnational history
• media history
• new political history

Notes

 1. Harootunian, History's Disquiet, 63.

 2. Nish, The Origins of the Russo-Japanese War, 2.

 3. One of the few exceptions: Bejarano, “The Widow's Tears and the Soldier's Dream,” 444–55.

 4. Huffman, Creating a Public, 281, 289. Ferris, “Turning Japanese,” 121–32.

 5. Japan's Fight For Freedom, 2 Vols. Cassell's History of the Russo-Japanese War, 4 Vols.

 6. Nichiro seneki shashinjô [Photo Album of the Russo-Japanese Campaign], 24 Vols. The Russo-Japanese War Fully Illustrated , 4 Vols.

 7. The Russo-Japanese War: A Photographic and Descriptive Review.

 8. This paper is based on a sample of approximately 1300 photographs published in Great Britain, Japan and the USA between 1904 and 1906.

 9. See Conrad and Eckert, “Globalgeschichte, Globalisierung, multiple Modernen [Global History, Globalization, Multiple Modernities]”, 7–49. Budde et al., eds, Transnationale Geschichte [Transnational History].

10. For the debates concerning the figure of thought of ”photographic representation” see Taylor, Body Horror, 4–60. Griffin, “The Great War Photographs,” 122–57. Schwartz, “Photographs as Facts,” 161–74.

11. Conrad and Eckert, “Globalgeschichte, Globalisierung, multiple Modernen [Global History, Globalization, Multiple Modernities],” 26–7.

12. Haupt, “Historische Politikforschung [Historical Political Science],” 305.

13. Aydin, “A Global Anti-Western Moment?,” 213–17. See also Westermann, “Japan's Victory in Philippine, Vietnamese, and Burmese Perspectives,” 413–29. Bieganiec, “Distant Echoes,” 444–55.

14. See Crivellari et al., eds, Die Medien der Geschichte [The Media of History].

15. Frevert, “Neue Politikgeschichte [New Political History],” 7–26.

16. Daniel, ed., Augenzeugen [Eyewitnesses]. Holzer, Die andere Front [The Other Front]. Holzer ed., Mit der Kamera bewaffnet [Armed with the Camera]. Knoch, “Das Unsichtbare im Medienkrieg [The Invisible in Media War].” 23–30. Paul, Bilder des Krieges [Pictures of War].

17. Benjamin. Das Kunstwerk im Zeitalter seiner technischen Reproduzierbarkeit [The Work of Art in the Age of Technical Reproduction]. Brothers, War and Photography, 170–3. Taylor, Body Horror, 38, 53.

18. Brothers, War and Photography, 24. Haupt, “Historische Politikforschung [Historical Political Science],” 308. Landwehr, “Diskurs, Macht und Wissen [Discourse, Power and Knowledge],” 106, 109.

19. Foucault, Archäologie des Wissens [Archaeology of Knowledge]. Haupt, “Historische Politikforschung [Historical Political Science]”, 308. Landwehr, “Diskurs, Macht und Wissen [Discourse, Power and Knowledge],” 106.

20. Harootunian, “Shadowing History: National Narratives and the Persistence of the Everyday,” 184–185. Kracauer, Das Ornament der Masse [The Mass Ornament].

21. Brothers, War and Photography, 18–21. Taylor, Body Horror, 18–25.

22. Kittler, Optische Medien [Optical Media], 39–41. Paul, Bilder des Krieges [Pictures and War], 108.

23. Pias et al., eds., Kursbuch Medienkultur [Textbook Media Culture], 9–10.

24. Crivellari, “Einleitung: Die Medialität der Geschichte [Introduction: The Mediality of History],” 21. Landwehr, “Diskurs, Macht und Wissen [Discourse, Power and Knowledge],” 110.

25. Conrad and Sachsenmeyer, “Competing Visions of World Order,” 1–25.

26. On the figure of thought of visibility, see Deleuze, Foucault , 69–98.

27. Landwehr, “Diskurs, Macht und Wissen [Discourse, Power and Knowledge],” 103.

28. Nish, The Origins of the Russo-Japanese War, 2.

29. Nish, The Origins of the Russo-Japanese War, 3–18, 240–56.

30. Conrad, Globalisierung und Nation im Deutschen Kaiserreich [Globalisation and Nation in the German Empire]. Hartmann, Globale Medienkultur: [Global Media Culture]. Headrick, The Invisible Weapon: Telecommunications and International Politics. Headrick, The Tentacles of Progress: Technology Transfer in the Age of Imperialism.

31. See, for a detailed analysis of the figure of thought of event, Koselleck, Vergangene Zukunft [Futures Past], 130–43.

32. See Virilio, Krieg und Kino [War and Cinema], 153–7.

33. See Virilio, Krieg und Kino [War and Cinema], 153–7. Kittler, Optische Medien [Optical Media], 40–42. Sontag, Das Leiden anderer betrachten [Regarding the Pain of Others], 32–40. Knoch, “Das Unsichtbare im Medienkrieg [The Invisible in Media War],” 24–6.

34. Pias et al., Kursbuch Medienkultur [Textbook Media Culture], 9–11.

35. Pias et al., Kursbuch Medienkultur [Textbook Media Culture], 10.

36. Civellari, “Einleitung: Die Medialität der Geschichte [Introduction: The Mediality of History],” 9–45.

37. Landwehr, “Diskurs, Macht und Wissen [Discourse, Power and Knowledge],” 98.

38. Landwehr, “Diskurs, Macht und Wissen [Discourse, Power and Knowledge],”, 105–10.

39. For an overview and discussion of the relevant debates see Rotem Kowner, “The War as a Turning Point in Modern Japanese History,” 29–46.

40. Nish, “The Clash of Two Empires: The Land War Reconsidered,” 65–77. MacKenzie, “Willpower or Firepower,” 30–40.

41. Zöllner, Geschichte Japans [The History of Japan], 291.

42. Corbett, Maritime Operations in the Russo-Japanese War. Kowner, “The Impact of the War on Naval Warfare,” 269–89. Huffman, Creating a Public, 277–293.

43. Kowner, ed., Rethinking the Russo-Japanese War, 1904–1905, Vol. I. Kowner ed., The Impact of the Russo-Japanese War.. Chapman and Chiharu, eds, Rethinking the Russo-Japanese War, 1904–1905, Vol. II. Wells and Sandra, eds, The Russo-Japanese War in Cultural Perspective. See, as one of the few papers taking into consideration the war's visual artefacts, Bejarano, “The Widow's Tears and the Soldier's Dream,” 159–84.

44. Paul, Bilder des Krieges [Pictures of War], 76–80.

45. For the figure of thought of visual “surface” see Taylor, Body Horror, 5–19.

46. Sontag, Regarding the Suffering of Others, 29–85, 121. Taylor, Body Horror, 14–17.

47. Cassell's History of the Russo-Japanese War , 180. The Russo-Japanese War: A Photographic and Descriptive Review , 39, 98, 101, 117. Japan's Fight For Freedom , 264, 452, 458, 1004. Nichiro seneki shashinjô [Photo Album of the Russo-Japanese Campaign], 3, 15, 21, 27, 33, 34, 50–1, 57.

48. The Russo-Japanese War: A Photographic and Descriptive Review, 127. Japan's Fight For Freedom , 514, 1905. Nichiro seneki shashinjô [Photo Album of the Russo-Japanese Campaign], 22.

49. Holzer, “Den Krieg sehen [To See the War],” 57–70. Jones et al., eds., Untold War. Sontag, Regarding the Pain of Others. Paul, Bilder des Krieges [Pictures of War].

50. Ferris, “Turning Japanese,” 119–21. Tsuchiya Yoshihuru, “The Role of the Homefront,” 218–31.

51. Sontag, Regarding the Point of Others, 30–47. Taylor, Body Horror, 17–19. Knoch, “Das Unsichtbare im Medienkrieg [The Invisible in Media War],” 23–30.

52. Hartmann, Globale Medienkultur [Global Media Culture], 21–78.

53. Kowner, “The Impact of the War on Naval Warfare,” 269–89. MacKenzie, “Willpower or Firepower,” 30–7. Nish, “The Clash of the Two Empires at War,” 65–77.

54. Heather et al., eds., Untold War. Rotem Kowner, “The High Road to the First World War?,” 293–314. Kowner, “Between a Colonial Clash and World War Zero,” 1–25.

55. Sontag, Das Leiden anderer betrachten [Regarding the Pain of Others], 15.

56. Sontag, Das Leiden anderer betrachten [Regarding the Pain of Others], 15. Please note: In her argumentation Sontag clearly distinguishes between the meaning of “war” [Krieg] and “warfare” [Kriegsführung], arguing that only the latter can be made visible by photographic depiction.

57. Sontag, Das Leiden anderer betrachten [Regarding the Pain of Others], 31.

58. Taylor, Body Horror, 18.

59. Taylor, Body Horror, 16.

60. Taylor, Body Horror, 4.

61. Taylor, Body Horror, 17.

62. Taylor, Body Horror, 17.

63. Taylor, Body Horror, 14.

64. Cassell's History of the Russo-Japanese War, 15, 19–23, 45, 51, 58, 60, 360, 423. The Russo-Japanese War: A Photographic and Descriptive Review, 45–8. Japan's Fight For Freedom, 48, 220, 788, 794, 960, 1027, 1042, 1129, 1144, 1262, 1334, 1345, 1360, 1364, 1366, 1382. Nichiro seneki shashinjô [Photo Album of the Russo-Japanese Campaign], 7, 9, 19, 23, 36, 90–1.

65. Cassell's History of the Russo-Japanese War, 155. Japan's Fight For Freedom, 637, 883, 1026, 1030. Nichiro seneki shashinjô [Photo Album of the Russo-Japanese Campaign], 10, 18.

66. Cassell's History of the Russo-Japanese War, 5, 26, 43, 74–5, 78–9, 121, 156, 161, 163, 347, 351, 360. The Russo-Japanese War: A Photographic and Descriptive Review, 28–30, 32–4, 48, 54, 59, 74, 79–80, 86, 127. Japan's Fight For Freedom, 45, 47–8, 220, 227, 486, 504–06, 536, 546–7, 584, 682, 836, 874, 883, 888, 896, 941–2, 946, 950, 956, 959–60, 962, 993, 1004, 1008, 1026, 1041, 1150, 1199, 1209, 1222, 1225, 1305, 1308, 1360, 1415, 1439. Nichiro seneki shashinjô [Photo Album of the Russo-Japanese Campaign], 7, 9, 10, 11, 18, 23, 36, 80, 90–1.

67. Cassell's History of the Russo-Japanese War, 26. Japan's Fight For Freedom, 880, 897, 992. Nichiro seneki shashinjô [Photo Album of the Russo-Japanese Campaign], 24, 29, 38, 105.

68. The Russo-Japanese War: A Photographic and Descriptive Review, 62. Japan's Fight For Freedom, 1040. Nichiro seneki shashinjô [Photo Album of the Russo-Japanese Campaign], 20.

69. Cassell's History of the Russo-Japanese War, 180. The Russo-Japanese War: A Photographic and Descriptive Review, 39, 98, 101, 117. Japan's Fight For Freedom, 264, 452, 458, 1004. Nichiro seneki shashinjô [Photo Album of the Russo-Japanese Campaign], 3, 15, 21, 27, 33, 34, 50–1, 57.

70. Cassell's History of the Russo-Japanese War, 223. The Russo-Japanese War: A Photographic and Descriptive Review, 59, 63, 65, 93. Japan's Fight For Freedom, 227, 452, 466. Nichiro seneki shashinjô [Photo Album of the Russo-Japanese Campaign], 23.

71. Cassell's History of the Russo-Japanese War, 365, 377, 501. Japan's Fight For Freedom, 908, 948, 952, 968, 994, 996, 1168, 1170, 1172. Nichiro seneki shashinjô [Photo Album of the Russo-Japanese Campaign], 3, 21, 42–3, 56, 68, 96.

72. Ulrich Keller, “Authentizität und Schaustellung [Authenticity and Exposition],” 22.

73. See Conrad and Eckert, “Globalgeschichte, Globalisierung, multiple Modernen [Global History, Globalization, Multiple Modernities],” 7–49.

74. Virilio, Krieg und Kino [Cinema and War], 153.

75. The Anglo-Boer War , 1899–1900: An Album of Upwards of Three Hundred Photographic Engravings.

76. Steinsieck, “Ein imperialistischer Medienkrieg [An Imperialistic War of Media],” 99–100.

77. Virilio, Krieg und Kino [Cinema and War], 105.

78. Sontag, Das Leiden anderer betrachten [Regarding the Pain of Others], 27–8, 32–40. Anton Holzer, “Das fotografische Gesicht des Krieges [The Photographic Face of War],” 7–20. Paul, Bilder des Krieges [Pictures of War], 103–8, 120–1.

79. Keller, “Authentizität und Schaustellung [Authenticity and Exposition],” 23–33.

80. Griffin, “The Great War Photographs,” 131–39. Keller, “Authentizität und Schaustellung [Authenticity and Exposition],” 23–33. Paul, Bilder des Krieges [Pictures of War], 76–83.

81. Griffin, “The Great War Photographs,”131–39. Paul, Bilder des Krieges [Pictures of War], 76–7. Steinsieck, “Ein imperialistischer Medienkrieg [An Imperialistic War of Media],” 99–100.

82. Griffin, The Great War Photographs, 131.

83. Griffin, The Great War Photographs, 132.

84. Griffin, The Great War Photographs, 79.

85. The Anglo-Boer War, 1899–1900: An Album of Upwards of Three Hundred Photographic Engravings. Steinsieck, “Ein imperialistischer Medienkrieg [An Imperialistic War of Media],” 87–112.

86. Cassell's History of the Russo-Japanese War, 183. The Russo-Japanese War: A Photographic and Descriptive Review, 29, 52–5. Japan's Fight For Freedom, 547, 763, 1026, 1042, 1137, 1150.

87. Griffin, “The Great War Photographs,” 122–57. Taylor, Body Horror, 1–86.

88. Taylor, Body Horror, 11.

89. Taylor, Body Horror, 11.

90. Japan's Fight For Freedom, 1322.

91. Japan's Fight For Freedom, 1291, 1297, 1303, 1304, 1310.

92. Japan's Fight For Freedom, 1290, 1305, 1308.

93. Japan's Fight For Freedom, 1304, 1309.

94. Landwehr, “Diskurs, Macht und Wissen [Discourse, Power and Knowledge],” 96–7.

95. Aydin, “A Global Anti-Western Moment?,” 213–17. Conrad and Sachsenmeyer, “Competing Visions of World Order,” 1–25.

96. Cassell's History of the Russo-Japanese War, 90.

97. Cassell's History of the Russo-Japanese War, 230.