Woman in Kimono Asleep and Dreaming of her Lover, a Soldier in Battle

A woman in kimono asleep and dreaming of her lover — a soldier in battle — creates a split-scene composition that was a favored device in Meiji-era literary illustration. The sleeping woman in the foreground occupies peaceful domestic space while the dream or vision superimposed on the image shows the violent reality of the distant battlefield where her lover fights. This form of narrative juxtaposition — intimate domestic scene against martial action — was particularly potent during the Sino-Japanese and Russo-Japanese wars when such themes had immediate relevance.