Clouds above the Hill is one of the best-selling novels ever in Japan, and is now translated into English for the first time. In Volume II, Meiji Japan is on a collision course with Russia, as Russian troops stationed in Manchuria ignore repeated calls to withdraw. Admiral Tōgō leads a blockade and subsequent skirmish to at the strategically vital and heavily fortified Port Arthur, whilst Yoshifuru's cavalry in Manchuria manoeuvres for position as it approaches the Russian Army lines. The two armies clash at the battle of Liaoyang, where Japan seals a victory that shocks the world. An epic portrait of Japan in crisis, Clouds above the Hill combines graphic military history and highly readable fiction to depict an aspiring nation modernizing at breakneck speed.