「日本万歳 百撰百笑」「御敗将 骨皮道人」

'The Honorable Defeated General' uses the formal honorific prefix 御 to mock a Chinese commander in defeat — a satirical inversion of the respectful language typically applied to victors. This print from Nippon Banzai: Hyakusen Hyakushō, published under Honekawa Dōjin during the First Sino-Japanese War, likely depicts a Chinese general in caricatured retreat: elaborate uniform in disarray, face contorted in fear or surprise, posture humiliated. The exaggerated contrast between the honorific title and the degrading visual content was a central device of the series. Two prints in the Hanga collection share this caption, suggesting Kiyochika produced variant compositions, possibly referencing different defeated commanders — among them figures such as Ye Zhichao or Ding Ruchang, whose defeats were widely reported in the Japanese press. The bold linework and flat color filling of these prints reflect their function as rapid-production topical media.