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A striking image of Japanese infantry advancing through a frozen landscape under the light of a full moon during the winter campaign of the First Sino-Japanese War. The lead soldier raises his arm to signal the file of troops behind him, all bundled in heavy greatcoats and moving across a snow-covered field. Their bayoneted rifles are slung over their shoulders as they trudge forward in silence, surrounded by sparse brush and wind-stripped trees. The moon, ringed in soft halos of pale yellow, is the only light source, casting long shadows and catching the barrel of the lead rifle in a faint glint.
The artist exploits the possibilities of chromolithography to achieve effects unavailable in traditional woodblock printing. Atmospheric gradients, stippled snowdrifts, and subtle tonal transitions in the sky and landscape suggest a cold, tense nocturnal operation behind enemy lines. Lithography had only recently gained wide use in Japanese print culture; this sheet reflects both a modernized army and the technical progress of domestic print production during the Meiji period.
Published in the final weeks of Japan’s campaign in Manchuria, the print celebrates the resolve and discipline of the First Army under General Yamagata Aritomo. Ariyama Sadajirō (or Teijirō) produced a small but powerful series of war scenes during the 1894–95 conflict. Most impressions were issued on cheap paper for ephemeral popular consumption and have not survived. This example is unusually well-preserved, with complete margins and fresh, unfaded color.
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