1894

Japan Wins a Great Victory in a Naval Battle against the Chinese Fleet near Phungtao (Chōsen Hōtō kaisen ni okeru Nisshin kaisen waga gun daishōri no zu)

Japanese, 1847 - 1915

In 1894 the first Sino-Japanese War erupted between the Empire of Japan and China’s Qing dynasty over control of the Korean Peninsula, with many battles occurring at sea. Kobayashi Kiyochika prolifically documented Japan’s triumphs during the war, in both prints, as seen here, as well as in illustrations he created for newspapers. This three-part woodcut portrays a Chinese warship being overtaken by Japanese forces in the Yellow Sea. Sharp, whitecapped waves crash against the sides of the colliding ships, adding to the sense of chaos as Chinese sailors attempt to escape the sinking vessel.