Of Brigands and Bravery : Kuniyoshi's Heroes of the Suikoden

ISBN-13: 9789074822558 / Angielski / Miękka / 2003 / 200 str.

Inge Klompmakers

Opis

Of brigands and bravery: Kuniyoshi's heroes of the Suikoden is the first monograph in English on the stunning series of 74 prints illustrating figures from the Suikoden by Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797-1861), one of the outstanding Japanese woodblock-print masters of the 19th century. The Suikoden (commonly known in English as The water margin) is the Japanese adaptation of the 14th-century Chinese vernacular novel, the Shui hu zhuan, which recounts the exploits of a group of rebels on Mount Liang (J. Ryosanpaku) under the lead of the brave and righteous Song Jiang. The Suikoden was enormously popular in Japan during the 19th century. It was Kuniyoshi's initial designs for the single-sheet print series The one hundred and eight heroes of the popular Suikoden (Tsuzoku Suikoden goketsu hyakuhachinin no hitori) - in which the full-length portraits of the heroes are charged with a new sense of dynamism - that spurred a Suikoden craze in Edo (present-day Tokyo). Of brigands and bravery reproduces the 74 known designs of the series in full colour; each is accompanied by an explanatory text. The publication also offers supplementary information on topics relating specifically to the series such as tattooing: a number of the Suikoden figures are adorned with tattoos and it is thought that Kuniyoshi himself had a passion for this art. In addition, Kuniyoshi's illustration of a variety of armour and dress types, his at times graphic portrayal of the heroes in battle and his integration of western stylistic devices are testimony to the creative genius behind the Suikoden series.

Recenzje

'The most thorough and user-friendly reference available on Suikoden illustration. Scholars, collectors and museum professionals with interest in Kuniyoshi will find this work invaluable. The nonspecialist will also find much to like about this volume. The marvelous illustrations and Klompmakers's lively descriptions of each print make for a truly pleasurable reading and viewing experience.'
Allen Hockley in The Journal of Asian Studies

A handsome and invaluable book. It will prove indispensable to all who have felt the strong and mysterious attraction of Kuniyoshi's Suikoden prints - now they can get the full story! - and will be prized by lovers of Japanese and Chinese art and culture in general.
B.W. Robinson in Arts of Asia

O autorze

Inge Klompmakers is currently acquisitions editor Asian Studies at Brill. Prior to her career in publishing, she worked as Japanese art specialist in the art trade. Klompmakers regularly writes and lectures on Japanese art. She is the author of Japanese Erotic Prints (2001) and The elegant life of Key Hiraga (2008) and contributed to Kawase Hasui: The Complete Woodblock Prints (2003) and The Hotei Encyclopedia of Japanese Woodblock Prints (2005).