　「陸奥」は、長門型戦艦の2番艦です。41cm主砲を８門備え、公試時に26.728ノットもの高速力を叩き出す等、当時世界で最も強力と評された戦艦7隻（いわゆるビッグ７）の中でも、「長門」共々抜きん出た性能を誇り、大和型戦艦の出現までまさに世界最大最強の戦艦として君臨しました。また「長門」と「陸奥」で聯合艦隊旗艦を交互に務めた事、その特徴的な姿（排熱・排煙の問題から、大正13年3月に屈曲煙突に改装された）や巨大さから「大日本帝国海軍の象徴」として国民に広く親しまれました。戦前の学校の教科書にその勇姿が描かれたり、「陸奥と長門は日本の誇り」という商品名のいろはがるたが販売されたりする人気ぶりでした。しかし、大東亜戦争中は、活躍の場を与えられる事なく、広島湾沖柱島泊地に停泊中だった昭和17年6月8日に突如爆沈。謎に包まれた最期を遂げました。
　本作品は、ご曾祖父様が「陸奥」乗組員だった方からご依頼を頂き、制作したものです。特徴的な屈曲煙突と複雑な艦橋、改造後の艦首を備えた重厚感ある、昭和８年時の「陸奥」を描きました。荒天下の太平洋の波浪を砕く特徴的な艦首の質感表現や、艦の細部描写にご注目下さい。作者としては、伸びやかさと重厚感を兼ね備えたこの時期の「陸奥」が最も美しいと感じています。

Mutsu was the second ship of the Nagato class battleships. Equipped with eight 41cm main guns and capable of speeds of 26.728 knots during trials, she was one of the seven most powerful battleships in the world at the time (the so-called "Big Seven"), and together with her sister ship Nagato, had outstanding performance until the appearance of the Yamato class battleships. The fact that Nagato and Mutsu alternated as the flagship of the Combined Fleet, as well as their distinctive appearance (Mutsu was converted to a curved chimney in March 1924 due to heat and smoke exhaust problems) and sheer size, made them widely familiar to the public as symbols of the Imperial Japanese Navy. The popularity of the Nagato class battleships were so great that their heroic figure were depicted in prewar school textbooks and a karuta (traditional Japanese playing cards) with the product name "Mutsu and Nagato are the pride of Japan" was sold. However, during the Greater East Asian War, she was never given a place to play an active role, and on June 8, 1942, while anchored at Hashirajima Island off Hiroshima Bay, she suddenly exploded and sank, ending her life shrouded in mystery.
This work was commissioned by a person whose great-grandfather was a member of the Mutsu crew. The Mutsu as she was in 1933 is depicted with her characteristic bent chimney, complex bridge, and massive appearance with her remodeled bow. Note the textured expression of the characteristic bow, which breaks the waves of the Pacific Ocean in stormy weather, and the detailed depiction of her.