The Empress Visiting the General Staff Headquarters — 野戦病院行啓之図

The Japanese title 野戦病院行啓之図 translates as 'Imperial Visit to a Field Hospital' rather than strictly the General Staff Headquarters, suggesting this print depicts Empress Haruko (later Empress Shoken) visiting wounded soldiers during either the First Sino-Japanese War or the Russo-Japanese War. The Empress's active involvement in relief work — she donated personal funds to the Red Cross and regularly visited military hospitals — was widely reported and celebrated in Meiji media. Kiyochika's composition likely shows the Empress in formal attire moving through a hospital ward, attended by officials, with bandaged soldiers in the middle ground. The print combines the genre of imperial presence imagery with the wartime reporting subjects that dominated his output during the 1890s. The contrast between the formal imperial figure and the wounded men around her would have reinforced a message of national solidarity.