Utagawa Kuniyoshi

1797-1861

One Hundred and Eight Heroes of the Popular Shuihuzhuan: Suo Chao, The Impatient Vanguard
(Tsuzoku Suikoden goketsu hyakuhachinin no hitori: Kyusenpo Sakucho)

titled at the upper right, Tsuzoku Suikoden goketsu hyakuhachinin no hitori: Kiusenpo Sakuchyau, signed Ichiyusai Kuniyoshi ga, with censor's seal, kiwame (approved), followed by the publisher's seal Kichi, Ryogoku, Kagaya (Kagaya Kichiemon, Kichibei), ca. 1827-1830

oban tate-e 15 by 10 3/8 in., 38.2 by 26.2 cm

This print depicts the heroic Captain Kyusenpo Sakucho (in Chinese, Suo Chao) from the Suikoden (The Tales of the Water Margin) during the battle of Peking with Seimenju Yoshi (in Chinese, Yang Zhi). The composition is associated with two other prints from the series which together comprise a triptych depicting gang members Tenmokusho Hoki and Seibokukan Kakushibun taking Sakucho prisoner as he and his horse plunge into a snow-covered trap.

References:
Inge Klompmakers, Of Brigands and Bravery: Kuniyoshi's Heroes of the Suikoden, 1998, p. 134, no. 40b
Robert Schaap, Heroes and Ghosts: Japanese Prints by Kuniyoshi, 1797-1861, 1998, p. 43, no. 9
The British Museum (research.britishmuseum.org), registration no. 2008,3037.10040
(inv. no. 10-5176)

price: $5,200