Our Torpedo Hitting a Russian Warship at the Great Naval Battle of Port Arthur (Ryojun no daikaisen ni Rokan ni waga suirai meichû suru no zu)

The full title—Ryojun no daikaisen ni Rokan ni waga suirai meichû suru no zu—places this print in the context of the Russo-Japanese War (1904–05) rather than the earlier conflict with China, depicting torpedo action at Port Arthur (Ryojun). This print documents operations at the outset of the Russo-Japanese War, when Japanese torpedo boats conducted a surprise night attack on the Russian Pacific Squadron at Port Arthur on February 8–9, 1904. Kiyochika, now in his late fifties, brings his long experience with nocturnal light effects to bear: the torpedo's detonation illuminates the side of the Russian warship from below, casting dramatic reflections across the harbor water. The composition balances the technical specificity of a warship's silhouette against the atmospheric luminosity for which his work is known.