Of brigands and bravery--Kuniyoshi's heroes of the Suikoden

Of brigands and bravery-Kuniyoshi's heroes of the Suikoden. By INGE KLOMPMAKERS. Leiden: Hotei Publishing, 1998. 199 pp. $75.00.

Inge Klompmakers has added an important new contribution to the growing body of literature on Utagawa Kuniyoshi and, indeed, nineteenth-century musha-a (warrior prints) as well. Of brigands and bravery illustrates and discusses all seventyfour extant prints of Kuniyoshi's series Tsuzoku Suikoden goketsu hyakuhachinin no hitori, more recognizable in the English translation of this title as "The 108 heroes of the popular Suikoden all told." Kuniyoshi struggled early in his career until he began to design warrior prints. This Suikoden series, in particular, garnered for him enough popular acclaim to establish his reputation as an emerging artist with a unique vision. To know Kuniyoshi, in other words, it is necessary to know this series. Of brigands and bravery makes both eminently more accessible. The first of the five essays that front this catalogue provides a brief synopsis of Kuniyoshi's career. The fifth essay positions the Suikoden series in Kuniyoshi's oeuvre and articulates why it was so appealing to early nineteenth-century...