He alone opened the Genbu-Gate in spite of heavy fire

This print celebrates an act of individual battlefield heroism during the First Sino-Japanese War, specifically the seizure of the Genbu Gate — one of the four directional gates of the ancient Korean city of Pyongyang — during the Japanese Army's assault on September 15, 1894. The Battle of Pyongyang was one of the war's decisive land engagements, and the capture of its fortified gates involved close combat under sustained fire. Kiyochika's sensō-e print isolates a single soldier in the moment of forcing the gate, a compositional choice rooted in the tradition of musha-e (warrior pictures) that celebrated individual martial valor. The figure is likely rendered in dynamic posture against a background of smoke, flame, or the fortification's architecture, with Kiyochika's characteristic use of strong directional light dramatizing the scene. The print contributes to the genre of named-hero war prints published in large editions during the conflict, satisfying public appetite for specific acts of valor identified by soldier, location, and action.