Great Generals of the East and West, c. 1874, Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, Japanese, 1839 - 1892, 63 3/4 × 39 13/16 in. (161.93 × 101.12 cm) (image)79 1/8 × 45 3/8 in. (200.98 × 115.25 cm) (without roller), Ink and color on silk, Japan, 19th century, One of the largest paintings by Yoshitoshi, this is also one of the most mysterious. The six people from right to left are the warlord and unifier of Japan Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-1598), as a child with dog; the first shogun of the Edo period (1603-1868), Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616); the first president of the United States, George Washington (1732-1799), as a drummer boy during the American Civil War; the feudal lord Mōri Motonari (1497-1571); Date Masamune (1579-1636), the Lord of Sendai; and the emperor of France Napoleon III (1808-1873). The signature indicates that this painting was commissioned, and the signature style puts the date at around 1874. Napoleon IIIs death in 1873 might have been the stimulus. But the meaning of this painting,