This print depicts Mori Motonari (1497-1571) in the foreground watching his troops surround the army of his enemy Sue Harutaka (1521-1555). Rain pours down on Sue's army, who are unaware of the trap into which they have blundered. From the beginning of their military engagement, Mori was greatly outnumbered by Sue's forces, and Mori needed a strategic plan to overcome Sue's army. Mori's victory came in the form of a trap on Miyajima Island near Itsukushima Shrine (pictured in the background). Mori's meager forces at Miyajima enticed Sue to overrun and occupy the difficult to defend position. Mori's men soon attacked from behind, using the cover of a storm to confuse and finally obliterate Sue's army. After two years, Mori consolidated his power and became the undisputed master of western Japan.

The Sengoku Period (circa 1467-1568), usually translated as the Warring States Period, was a prolonged era of civil war between numerous feudal domains. Lack of effective central leadership led domain lords to vie for larger areas of influence, and to create territories that were independent of outside rule. This situation remained until Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582), and Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-1598), worked together to effect a unification of the country under central rule. Characterized by ruthless ambitions and contested territories, the legends of the Sengoku Period maintained the themes of strength, honor, bravery, and loyalty established in the classical period and Genpei War (1180-1185). The prints here depict an era of grotesque violence and ingenious military tactics; warlords slaughtered their rivals families, and collected their enemies heads. Brilliant military strategies unfolded as smaller infantries toppled much larger armies using traps, diversions, and recently imported firearms. It was a time of gekokujō, , which can be translated as the low overcoming the high, and the ultimate victor of the Sengoku Period, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, was a man born to humble beginnings with no samurai lineage. These prints celebrate men like Hideyoshi, whose aggression and strategic genius brought them great status.