Gazing off into the distance with his shirt over his head, the man in the center of this painting has a muscular physique that is decidedly un-Japanese. It is clear that Wada Sanzo, who was a young man of only 24 at the time, was completely obsessed with the Western Academic notion of depicting an idealized human form. The figures are sailors who have suffered an accident. Despite the situation, the form of the heroic men fits the exalted mood that followed the Russo-Japanese War, and the painting was apparently greeted with a positive response from contemporary viewers. It won the highest award at the first Bunten (Ministry of Education Fine Arts Exhibition).

(Designated an Important Cultural Property on October 31, 2018)