Sino-Japanese War: Picture of the Great Victory at Jiuliancheng (Nisshin sensô Kyûrenjô daishô no zu)

This sensō-e records the Japanese victory at Jiuliancheng on the Manchurian bank of the Yalu River in October 1894, one of the pivotal engagements that allowed Japan's First Army to advance into Qing-controlled territory for the first time. The Yalu crossing involved pontoon bridges assembled under artillery fire and coordinated infantry attacks; Japanese losses were light relative to the strategic gain. Gekko's print, the first of three versions he produced of this subject, likely depicts the moment of Japanese breakthrough—soldiers surging forward with bayonets fixed or commanders directing the advance from elevated ground. The title cartouche Nisshin sensō Kyûrenjō daishō no zu identifies the location and emphasizes the scale of victory. As with other prints in Gekko's war series, the composition would blend topographic specificity with the heroic figure treatment inherited from earlier warrior-print (musha-e) traditions, rendered through the technically demanding color woodblock process that required separate carved blocks for each color zone.