Illustration of the Attack and Occupation of Tienchuangtai (Denshodai)

This woodblock print depicts the Japanese assault on the Tienchuangtai telegraph station (Denshodai) during the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894–95, one of the strategic engagements along the Liaodong Peninsula. Kiyochika produced numerous triptych-format war prints during this conflict, typically arranged to show sweeping troop formations, artillery fire, and smoke-filled battlefields that translated the visual conventions of illustrated newspapers into the woodblock medium. The composition likely shows Japanese infantry advancing under fire, with bayonets fixed and regimental banners visible, rendered with the dramatic contrasts of light and shadow that distinguish Kiyochika's work from earlier ukiyo-e battle imagery. Smoke and flame provided natural vehicles for the atmospheric lighting effects central to his kosen-ga approach. These prints served both as popular news imagery and as patriotic visual narratives celebrating Meiji military modernization.