Japanese Forces Driving Away Taiwanese Bandits near Xinzhu (Taiwan Shinchiku fukin dozoku sôjô no zu)

This woodblock print depicts a military engagement in Taiwan following its cession to Japan under the Treaty of Shimonoseki (1895). Japanese forces encountered sustained resistance from Taiwanese militia and irregular fighters — referred to in Meiji-era Japanese sources as dozoku or local indigenous resistance — particularly in the central and northern regions near Hsinchu (Xinzhu/Shinchiku). The Japanese subtitle, Taiwan Shinchiku fukin dozoku sōjō no zu, describes the scene as a depiction of indigenous uprising near Shinchiku. Kiyochika frames the engagement from the Japanese military perspective, with composition and title language reflecting the colonial framing standard in Meiji illustrated media. The print likely shows infantry formations in jungle or agricultural terrain, with smoke and action conventional to his battle print vocabulary. It belongs to a series documenting the Taiwan campaign of 1895.