Three Heroes of the Water Margin Capture the Bandit Queen Ichijōsei, from the series One Hundred Eight Heroes of the Theater Suikoden

ca. 1835

Not on view

The plot of the fourteenth-century Chinese novel The Water Margin (Shuihu zhuan), known as Suikoden in Japanese, relates the exploits of 108 anti-government outlaws, heroes during an era of political corruption. The group of rebellious heroes were based in a secret hideaway surrounded by marshes—the water margin— as seen in Hokuei’s idealized rendition. This is a completely fabricated theatrical scene, since the four famous actors never performed together on the Osaka stage.

The actors portrayed, from right to left: Nakamura Shikan II as Kumonryū Shishin, or Nine Dragons; Nakamura Utaemon III as Nyūunryū Kō Sonshō, Dragon in the Clouds; Keishi (Nakamura Tomijūrō II) as Ko Sanjō Ichijōsei, the female figure; and Arashi Rikan II as Rōrihakuchō Chōjun, or White Stripe in the Waves.

Artwork Details

戯場水滸伝百
Title: Three Heroes of the Water Margin Capture the Bandit Queen Ichijōsei, from the series One Hundred Eight Heroes of the Theater Suikoden
Artist: Shunbaisai Hokuei 春梅斎北英 (Japanese, active 1829–1837, died 1837)
Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
Date: ca. 1835
Culture: Japan
Medium: Tetraptych of woodblock prints (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper; vertical ōban
Dimensions: Image (each): 14 5/8 × 10 1/8 in. (37.1 × 25.7 cm)
Classification: Prints
Credit Line: Purchase, Friends of Asian Art Gifts, in honor of James C. Y. Watt, 2011
Object Number: 2011.137a–d
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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By Shunbaisai Hokuei 春梅斎北英

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Album of Twenty Half-Length Portraits of Actors in Roles, Shunbaisai Hokuei 春梅斎北英 Japanese, Folding album; ink and color on paper, Japan — Album of Twenty Half-Length Portraits of Actors in Roles
Shunbaisai Hokuei 春梅斎北英
1830s

Kabuki Actor Arashi Rikan II as Iemon Confronted by an Image of His Murdered Wife, Oiwa, on a Broken Lantern, Referring to Katsushika Hokusai’s Hyaku monogatari (One Hundred Ghost Stories), Shunbaisai Hokuei 春梅斎北英 Japanese, Woodblock print; ink and color on paper, Japan — Kabuki Actor Arashi Rikan II as Iemon Confronted by an Image of His Murdered Wife, Oiwa, on a Broken Lantern, Referring to Katsushika Hokusai’s Hyaku monogatari (One Hundred Ghost Stories)
Shunbaisai Hokuei 春梅斎北英
1832

The Courtesan Emu of the Matsuya Brothel as a Cormorant Fisherwoman (Ukai Matsuya Emu), from the series “A Costume Parade in the Shimanouchi District” (Shimanouchi nerimono), Shunbaisai Hokuei 春梅斎北英 Japanese, Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper; vertical ōban, Japan — The Courtesan Emu of the Matsuya Brothel as a Cormorant Fisherwoman (Ukai Matsuya Emu), from the series “A Costume Parade in the Shimanouchi District” (Shimanouchi nerimono)
Shunbaisai Hokuei 春梅斎北英
1836

The Actor Nakamura Utaemon IV as the Wrestler Iwakawa Jirokichi, Shunbaisai Hokuei 春梅斎北英 Japanese, Woodblock print; ink and color on paper; vertical ōban, Japan — The Actor Nakamura Utaemon IV as the Wrestler Iwakawa Jirokichi
Shunbaisai Hokuei 春梅斎北英
1837

Kabuki Actor Arashi Rikan II as Akogi Heiji, from the print series Tōsei keshōkagami (Makeup Mirrors of Our Time), Shunbaisai Hokuei 春梅斎北英 Japanese, Woodblock print; ink and color on paper, Japan — Kabuki Actor Arashi Rikan II as Akogi Heiji, from the print series Tōsei keshōkagami (Makeup Mirrors of Our Time)
Shunbaisai Hokuei 春梅斎北英
1835

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