108 Heroes of the Suikoden, One by One
(Suikoden
gôketsu hyaku-bachi-nin no hitori, 水滸傳濠傑百八人之個)
Publisher: Yamazaki Kimbei
1830 (reissued in 1842)
This series of prints is based on stories from the semi-historical Chinese novel, Suikoden (Shuihu zhuan in Chinese). It tells of the adventures of a band of 108 rebels who sought refuge in the margins of Liangshan Marsh. These rebel warriors sought to protect the poor and downtrodden, very much like Robin Hood’s band. Some of the designs in this series are smaller versions of prints in Kuniyoshi’s “great” Suikoden series. The prints in this series are each about 10 by 7 inches (25 by 18 centimeters), a size known as chûban.
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Japanese name:
Gyôja Bushô of Seikaken Chinese name:
Wu Song Scene:
Gyôja Bushô, brown-skinned and half-naked, killing a tiger with his bare
hands at Keiyô Hill Robinson:
S2a.1 |
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Japanese name:
Chûsenko Teitokuson (中箭虎丁得孫) Chinese name:
Ding Desun (Arrow-shot Tiger Ding Desun) Scene: The
hero fighting off a giant poisonous snake Robinson:
S2a.2 |
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Japanese name:
Hakujisso Hakushô (白日鼠白勝) Chinese name:
Bai Sheng (Daylight Rat Bai Sheng) Scene:
Hakujisso Hakushô, half-naked, lifting a box of snakes above a foe with whom
he is struggling. Robinson:
S2a.3 |
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Japanese name:
Kwatsuyenra Genshôshichi (活閽羅阮小七) Chinese name:
Ruan Xiaoqi (Living King Yama Ruan Xiaoqi) Scene: The
hero in a boat using a tiger skin as a shield against flying arrows Robinson:
S2a.7 |
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Japanese name:
Ryôtôja Kaichin (両頭蛇解珍) Chinese name:
Xie Zhen (Double Headed Snake Xie Zhen) Scene: The
hero binding a fallen enemy general with a corded missile Robinson:
S2a.8 |
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Japanese name:
Tammeijirô (or Tanmeijirô) Genshôgo Chinese name:
Du Qian Scene:
Tammeijirô Genshôgo, bare-chested, kneels on a fallen foe, a drawn sword in
his hand Robinson:
S2a.12 |
These
prints closely resemble the above series and share the same series title. They were published without a decorative
border; measure about 7.5 by 5 inches (19 by 13 centimeters); date from about
1842; and are not mentioned in Robinson.
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Japanese name:
Hyôshitô Rinchû Chinese name:
Lin Chong Scene:
Hyôshitô Rinchû about to thrust his sword into a kneeling dark-skinned foe in
the snow |
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Japanese name:
Kokusempû Riki (called Ritetsu Gyu) Chinese name:
Li Kui Scene:
Kokusempû Riki by a waterfall with a sword in hand fighting three tigers |
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Japanese name:
Sekibakki Ryûtô Chinese name:
Liu Tang Scene:
Sekibakki Ryûtô holding a sword in his right horizontally over his head |
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Japanese name:
Sôshiko Raiô Chinese name:
Lei Heng Scene:
Sôshiko Raiô standing by a river with rapids holding his sword in front of
him with both hands |
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The above two prints may be
joined to form a diptych. In ukiyo-e, it is not unusual to
encounter a series of single-sheet prints, only a few of which form larger
compositions when joined. If the
prints are well designed, each panel is artistically pleasing in
isolation. |
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Japanese name:
Rôrihakuchô Chôjun (浪裡白跳張順) Chinese
name: Zhang Shun (White Streak in the Waves Zhang Shun) Scene:
Rôrihakuchô Chôjun with a sword between his teeth wrenches apart the bars of
a water gate |
“Robinson” refers to listing in Kuniyoshi: The Warrior-Prints by Basil William Robinson (Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY, 1982) and its privately published supplement.
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