Assignment 6: "Kamei Koreaki Burying enemy dead Port Arthur" image analysis

"Kamei Koreaki Burying enemy dead Port Arthur" 

This image is the aftermath of Kamei Koreaki's Sino-Japanese War scene in Port Arthur.  Immediately, as the viewer, our eyes go to the ground overflowing with dead bodies.  The deceased are dressed in very humble clothes and they appear to be unarmed.  There are so many limbs and people piled so it is hard to make out how many people were killed, or rather it is difficult to make out that they are people until you see a few faces peeking through the bodies.  They almost blend into the rocks.

In contrast to the corpses, the soldiers are dressed in very dark uniforms that all match and they are all standing around the bodies.  There is one person that appears to be in charge, on the very right side of the photo.  His stance in very assertive and seems to be watching over the whole scene.  All the people their appear to be of East Asian descent, but the soldiers are wearing more Western looking uniforms.

Overall, the majority of the soldiers' gazes are towards the pit that is being dug up.  Some of the soldiers appear to be bored or irritated because some have their arms crossed or seem to be goofing off with their fellow soldiers.  While some appear bored, others appear to stand very awkwardly, not knowing what to do with themselves in the midst of such dense air.  The interesting this about this photo it the fact that all the soldiers' gazes are averted from the viewer and the very apparent mass of dead people.

The faces of the people looking at the camera are darkened and barely visible.  Their avoiding posture almost has the opposite effect of trying to ignore them and makes the corpses more obvious.  The bodies are lightened and almost form a path towards the pit being dug up.  From my interpretation , the soldiers almost have a solemn and sort of regretful posture.  They don't really look like soldiers that won a prideful victory.  There is a very obvious tension in this photo, where the defeaters has overcome the enemy and are left with dead people that aren't their enemy anymore.  The way the photographer had the village or homes of the people in the background faintly showing reminds the viewers that these people all lived normal lives and had families, and it's almost as if that is a faded memory.