The opening naval battle of the First Sino-Japanese War — fought off the Korean coast near Pungdo (Asan Bay) in late July 1894 — is depicted in this August 1894 nishiki-e as a Japanese triumph. The Japanese cruiser Naniwa's sinking of the British-chartered Kowshing transport, which carried Qing reinforcements, was the combat that ignited the formal war, and Kiyochika's composition presents it as a righteous assertion of naval power. The seascape triptych format — waves, smoke, listing hulls — became his default grammar for naval war imagery.
Wakasa Kugushiko
1920
Color woodblock print; oban
Woodblock print
1934
Color woodblock print; oban
n.d.
Woodblock print; ishizuri-e, section of harimaze sheet
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Naval Battle between Japan and Qing off the Coast of Pungdo in Korea, Picture of the Great Victory of Our Forces was created by Kobayashi Kiyochika (小林清親) in August 1894.
Naval Battle between Japan and Qing off the Coast of Pungdo in Korea, Picture of the Great Victory of Our Forces depicts landscapes, seascapes, and warriors.
Naval Battle between Japan and Qing off the Coast of Pungdo in Korea, Picture of the Great Victory of Our Forces measures 36.8 × 74.3 cm (Oban format).
