[A Russian civilian gets upset during a game of go, while his Japanese opponent appears confident of victory]

From Kiyochika's satirical series produced during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905, this print uses the strategic board game go as a metaphor for military conflict. The Russian civilian is depicted with exaggerated emotional distress while his Japanese counterpart maintains composed confidence, encoding the Japanese self-image of disciplined strategic superiority. Kiyochika's wartime caricature work employed bold outlines, flat color areas, and physiognomic exaggeration derived partly from Western political cartoon conventions absorbed through illustrated newspapers. The use of a civilian leisure setting to represent military strategy was a common device in Meiji war print satirical series, framing the conflict as one of national character as much as battlefield outcome.