Despite the Heavy Artillery Like Rainfall, He Alone Opens the Hyonmu Gate (Danû o okashite tanshin Genbumon o hiraku), Meiji period, dated 1894

A third impression or state of the 1894 print depicting the lone opening of the Xuanwu Gate at the height of artillery bombardment, from Kiyochika's Sino-Japanese War series. The existence of multiple impressions under this title reflects both the commercial success of the senso-e genre during the 1894–1895 conflict and the common practice of issuing prints through multiple publishers or in revised editions. Kiyochika's war prints were typically produced rapidly in response to battlefield dispatches, and compositional refinements between states were not uncommon. This work exemplifies the Meiji-era fusion of traditional polychrome woodblock technique with subject matter shaped by modern warfare and nationalist media culture.