1894

The Japanese Fleet Sinks Chinese Warships in the Battle of the Yellow Sea (Waga kantai Kōkai ni oite Shinkan gekichin 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 the first naval battle of the war, a skirmish that ended with the surrender of the Chinese gunboat shown here. Sharp, whitecapped waves envelop the ship as it sinks into murky waters.