Crossing Anjô Proceeding in Battle (Anjô o watari shingeki no zu), Meiji period, dated 1894

This print belongs to Kiyochika's series depicting engagements of the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–95), a body of work that established him as the foremost woodblock chronicler of that conflict. The crossing of Anju, located in the Pyongan region of Korea, was among the early military actions of the campaign as Japanese forces advanced northward toward the Yalu River. Kiyochika's composition likely shows Japanese infantry or cavalry crossing a river under conditions of active engagement, with uniforms, equipment, and formation rendered with the journalistic specificity that characterizes his sensō-e work from this period. Unlike his early Meiji atmospheric landscapes in the kosen-ga mode, these war prints favor high-contrast, legible compositions designed for rapid visual comprehension and mass distribution. Issued as large-format triptychs or single sheets sold individually, they reached audiences across Japan within weeks of the battles they depicted. The 1894 date places this among the earliest prints in Kiyochika's war series, produced while the outcome of the campaign remained uncertain.