Captain Asakawa, Second Class Cavalryman Kimura Genmatsu

Captain Asakawa and Second Class Cavalryman Kimura Genmatsu are portrayed in this January 1895 nishiki-e as exemplary soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Army during the Sino-Japanese War. Kiyochika produced a series of individual hero portraits during the 1894–95 campaign, documenting soldiers whose acts of bravery were reported in the press and celebrated in popular culture. The portraits combine formal military bearing with the dramatic lighting Kiyochika favoured across all his figure work.