Artist: Nitei (Dates unknown)
Title: Scene of the Great Victory at the First Japanese-Russian Naval Battle at the Harbor of Incheon
Date: 1904
Edition: Likely Early Ed. triptych, sheets approximately 14.5 x 9.5 each
Sig./Seal: Signed Nihei, Publisher Omiya Kyûjirô
Condition: Vivid colors, paper clip marks under mat, partially trimmed margins, in acid-free environs
Size: F: 34 x 18 , in black wood frame, under clear acrylic cover     
SS: 17 x 33      P50516            $595.00
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Scene of the Great Victory at the First Japanese-Russian Naval Battle at the Harbor of Incheon
This triptych is signed at lower-right of the right panel "Ōju Nitei e" ('a picture by Nitei by special request') with accompanying artist's seal, which also reads "Nitei." The title of the picture is printed in the floral cartouche at upper-right. This triptych is one of a number of unserialized prints of the Russo-Japanese War issued in 1904 by Ōmiya Kyūjirō, of the firm Kiyūdō. The publisher's seal, at lower-left of the left panel, bears the publisher's family name, Sawa Kyūjirō (occasionally mistranslated as Sawa Hisajirō), which is consistent with his seal designs following 1876. The seal also identifies the year of publication as Meiji 37 (1904).

This scene depicts one of the opening battles of the Russo-Japanese War, the Battle of Chemulpo Bay (now known as Incheon Harbor). Adding to the purported veracity of the image, Nitei has identified the two foreign battleships as the Varyag and the Korietz. Though Nitei shows the Varyag being attacked, it did not ultimately sink. The Varyag was later salvaged and put into use by the Japanese Imperial Navy under the new name of Soya.
Nitei was an artist with links to woodblock war prints, particularly in the context of the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905). Specific works attributed to Nitei include a print titled “Port Arthur” (1904) and one depicting the “Harbor of Inchon”. 
The popularity of war prints during this period is highlighted by the fact that artists who had previously distinguished themselves during the Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895) also contributed to the Russo-Japanese War prints (1904-1905). These prints served as visual documentation and possibly propaganda during these conflicts.