About This Print

The inscription in the white box to the left of the title cartouche provides a summary of action on July 29, likely making this a scene from the battle of Seonghwan [also known as the battle of Asan] in Korea, the first major land battle of the Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895).  Chinese troops are seen fleeing the charging Japanese marines and the airborne bodies of the enemy can be seen in the bright orange explosion, in this scene made up by the artist.

Print Details

IHL Catalog	#84
Title or Description	Illustration of a large intense engagement Sino-Japanese War  Nisshin dai-gekisen no zu 日清大激戰之圖 [日清大激戦之図]
Artist	Watanabe Nobukazu (1872-1944)
Signature	ōju Yosai Nobukazu hitsu 應需楊斎延一筆
Seal	none
Publication Date	August 1894 (Meiji 27) (see Publisher below)
Publisher	横山良八 Yokoyama Ryōhachi [Marks: pub. ref. 623; seal not shown]
Impression	excellent
Colors	excellent
Condition	excellent - staining in margins, minor thinning on lower right hand corners of left and right panels, full margins and separate sheets
Genre	ukiyo-e; senso-e
Miscellaneous	censor seal reading 内務省検閲済 Naimushō kenetsu zumi Home Ministry examination complete The Publication Law of 1893 (Shuppan hō) required all publications to be vetted by the home ministry, however there are few Sino-Japanese War prints bearing their examination stamp. As this print was issued in August 1894, just as war was officially declared against China, it may have been subject to censorship regulations that later prints were not, as the government imposed separate censorship during the war.
Format	vertical oban triptych
H x W Paper	14.5 in. x 10 in.  (36.8 cm x 25.4 cm) each sheet
Literature
Collections This Print	Digital Collections of Keio University Libraries (note: they incorrectly attribute the print to Adachi Ginko)

last revision: