Yasuda Hanpo, "Storming the Summit at Port Arthur, Russo Japanese War"

Japan's attack at Port Arthur was the longest and bloodiest battle during the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905). Located in Liaodong Peninsula, it was home to the Russian fleet. In this woodblock print by Yasuda Hanpo (1889-1947) an officer from the Japanese Navy approaches the summit of Port Arthur with a white flag, but is fired upon by Russian defenders.

Date: 1904
Size: Oban Triptych
Publisher: Hirose Kotaro
Condition: Light toning, 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.