Universal Divination by the Eight Trigrams, Illustrated

(Shû-yeki hake-ye)

Publisher: Jôshû-ya Kinzô

1837-1838

The eight trigrams are ancient Chinese symbols used in divination. According to legend, Emperor Fu Hsi (24th century BCE) discovered them inscribed on the back of a tortoise. The sixty-four hexagrams, which each constitute a unique vertical pair of trigrams, are dealt with extensively in the book I Ching. Robinson lists only two prints in this series, and it is unlikely that any others exist. They are each about 14 by 10 inches (36 by 25 centimeters), a size known as ôban.

	Scene: Raijin, the thunder god, brandishing his drumsticks as he storms through the sky accompanied by a thunder-beast Robinson: S11.1
	Scene: Fûten, the wind god, manipulating his swirling bag accompanied by a storm-bird Robinson: S11.2

‘Robinson’ refers to listing in Kuniyoshi: The Warrior-Prints by Basil William Robinson (Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY, 1982) and its unpublished supplement.

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