Published 1895, Denshôdai no yaku, shôkô jûichimei dôsho ni kai su (The Battle at Tianzhuangdai: The Gathering of Eleven Generals) belongs to Sino-Japanese War Triptychs. This design belongs to Gekkō’s imagery of the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894–95, a conflict over influence in Korea that ended with China’s defeat and the Treaty of Shimonoseki. Such triptychs circulated rapidly in Japan as a hybrid of illustrated news, military spectacle, and nationalist propaganda; their dramatic narratives should not be read as neutral records of combat.

The title identifies the design’s particular figure, episode, object, or place, anchoring Gekkō’s composition in a larger network of historical narrative and cultural association. The catalog identifies battle, fire, forest, landscape, men, and war among the principal motifs. Gekkō uses their relationship to clarify action, season, setting, and narrative emphasis rather than treating them as interchangeable decoration.

The three-sheet format creates a broad visual field suited to simultaneous action, opposing forces, processions, or panoramic space; the joins between sheets also structure the narrative rhythm.

Additional information

Editions

First Edition

Publisher

Sekiguchi Masajiro

Size

Oban triptych

Subjects

battle, fire, forest, landscape, men, war

Year Published

1895

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