In 1871, a ship from Liuqiu Islands drifted to Mudan Village (present day Mudan Township in Pingtung County). When the crew came ashore, 54 of them were killed by the indigenous people in Mudan Village, and 12 were sent back to Liuqiu. In June 1873, the Japanese dispatched Foreign Secretary Sonejima Taneomi to deliver a treaty to Beijing and negotiate with the Qing government about the Taiwanese indigenes. The matter was not handled well by the Qing government, and thus the Japanese established the Bureau of Aboriginal Affairs in Nagasaki using the excuse that the Chinese believed the territory east of the boundary did not fall under their control, and preparations were made to dispatch troops to Taiwan. In April 1874, the Governor-General of Aboriginal Affairs Saigo Tsugumichi decided to launch an offensive. In May, Japanese troops landed in Hengchun, Pingtung, to engage the Paiwan indigenes in a series of battles. When the Japanese troops massacred the people and burnt the villages, victory seemed certain, and no large-scale battles occurred after this. This photograph was published in the February 27, 1875 edition of The Graphic, and was taken after the Shimen Battle, when Saigo met with indigenous chieftains Tauketok and Isa, who are pictured in the middle, right and left, respectively.