Kuniyoshi's Heroes of China and Japan

Kuniyoshi is best known for his warrior prints; his two great series are the 'Suikoden' (Tales from the Water-Margin) and the 'Taiheki' (Chronicles of the Great Peace), selections from which are illustrated in this booklet. His interest in warrior prints began at a young age but it was not until 1827, with the first 'Suikoden' series, that he made a serious impression on the public eye. These prints were dramatic or melodramatic representations of examples of courage and strength. Although it is his warrior prints for which he is best known, and which is discussed here, from this time on he ventured into many other fields of printmaking including actor prints, depictions of courtesans and beautiful women and landscape. The 'Suikoden' is based upon the Chinese semi-historical novel the 'Shuihu zhuan' which is based upon incidents at the end of the Song dynasty, in the thirteenth century, when a period of lawlessness preceded the rise of the Mongol or Yuan Dynasty.