The Great Underwater Battle at the Yalu River - Fukuda Kumajirô

A 1894 Japanese woodblock print depicting a fictionalised underwater battle between divers during the First Sino-Japanese War.

This woodblock print by Fukuda Kumajirô depicts a fictionalised naval engagement during the First Sino-Japanese War. Produced in 1894, the work belongs to the genre of senso-e, or war prints, which were mass-produced to satisfy public demand for news and imagery from the front lines. The composition is divided into two distinct zones: the surface of the Yalu River, where steam-powered warships navigate turbulent waters, and an imagined underwater realm.

In the lower section, the artist illustrates a fantastical hand-to-hand combat scene between divers. These figures are equipped with early diving suits and helmets, wielding swords and knives in a submerged environment. The inclusion of searchlight beams, which cut through the dark water and illuminate the combatants, reflects the contemporary fascination with modern military technology during the late nineteenth century. The print employs a triptych format, a common technique in Meiji-era printmaking to allow for expansive, panoramic narratives.

The aesthetic combines traditional Japanese woodblock techniques with Western-influenced perspective and subject matter. The colour palette is restrained, relying on muted greys, blues, and blacks to convey the murky depths of the river, punctuated by the stark red of the searchlight beams. This print serves as a record of how the Japanese public consumed information about the conflict, blending factual naval events with imaginative, often hyperbolic, artistic interpretations. The work captures the tension between the rapid modernisation of the Japanese military and the traditional visual language of the ukiyo-e printmaker.