[Russian soldiers frightened by toy figures of Japanese soldiers hanging by strings]

This satirical woodblock print belongs to Kiyochika's body of sensō-e (war pictures) produced during the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905). The composition depicts Russian soldiers recoiling in alarm from suspended toy figures of Japanese soldiers—likely string puppets or kites dangling in the air. The conceit deflates Russian military prestige through comedy: the scene equates the enemy's fear with an inability to distinguish real threat from children's playthings. Kiyochika, who had earlier produced heroic battlefield triptychs during the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–95), increasingly shifted toward caricature and nationalist satire in his later career. The print likely employs bold, high-contrast graphic quality characteristic of his editorial work, with exaggerated facial expressions on the Russian soldiers conveying panic. Such prints circulated widely in Tokyo as inexpensive single sheets, serving simultaneously as popular entertainment and propaganda supporting the Japanese war effort. The humor is self-congratulatory, implying that Japanese fighting spirit is so potent that even its imitation causes enemy panic.