Picture of the Great Naval Victory During the Sino-Japanese War (Nisshin sensô Nihon daishôri kaisen no zu)

This print documents one of the major naval engagements of the Sino-Japanese War (1894–95) under the title Nisshin sensō Nihon daishōri kaisen no zu, emphasizing a decisive Japanese victory at sea. Naval battle prints were the dominant format in Meiji war reportage, combining the spectacle of warships with patriotic narrative. Gekko likely composed this as an oban triptych — the standard format for large-scale maritime subjects — showing Japanese ironclads exchanging fire with the Beiyang Fleet amid smoke columns and churning water. The color palette typical of such prints exploits the contrast between blue-gray sea, white steam and gun smoke, and the vivid orange-red of muzzle flash and burning hulls. Details such as rigging, naval ensigns, and ship silhouettes were rendered with documentary precision to satisfy an audience closely following the campaign through the press.