Illustration of the Occupation of Weihaiwei (Ikaiei senryô no zu)

This print records the Japanese occupation of Weihaiwei (Weihai) on the Shandong Peninsula, which fell to Japanese forces in February 1895 after a combined land and naval assault that effectively ended Chinese naval resistance in the First Sino-Japanese War. The fall of Weihaiwei, the main base of the Beiyang Fleet, was among the most decisive events of the conflict, and it generated substantial print documentation in Tokyo. Gekko likely depicts the moment of occupation or the Japanese advance into the fortified harbor, with figures in Meiji military dress occupying elevated ground or naval vessels in the foreground. The composition would balance topographic specificity—the harbor configuration and fortifications of Weihaiwei were well documented in Japanese newspapers—with the dramatic visual conventions of the war print genre. Color choices would emphasize cold northern light appropriate to a February setting.