This print depicts the Japanese flagship, Matsushima, firing at the Chinese. Matsushima was badly damaged when a Chinese round hit the ammunition storage, accounting for almost one hundred Japanese casualties in the battle. Her fate could have been worse, for several rounds that hit her failed to explode. Ogata Gekko was an important painter of the Meiji Period, who also produced woodblock prints. As with many other artists, a mixture of patriotism and quick profit were the reasons why they produced the images of a war in a distant land that they had not witnessed"--From label.