Utagawa Kunitoshi, "Bridge Battle, Sino-Japanese War"

In this chaotic battle scene from the Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895), Utagawa Kunitoshi (active ca. 1880 to 1900), two fronts in a battle are taking places as Japanese troops advance across a river from a bridge and from the banks below.

Date: ca. 1895
Size: Oban Triptych
Publisher: Kojiro Kotada
Condition: Light spot right panel, otherwise excellent color and condition
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Japan's ascendance into a colonial power in the late 19th century was the subject of many Meiji-period woodblock print makers. These senso-e (war pictures) depicting battles and heroes of the Sino-Japanese and Russo-Japanese Wars were romanticized snapshots of valiant victories in combat, but were also celebrations of real military achievements that laid the foundations of Japan's imperial rise in the 20th century.