108 Heroes of the Suikoden

Catalog note / 解説

The story of the 108 heroes of the Suikoden goes back to an old Chinese novel about 108 honorable bandits, some kind of Robin Hood gang. At the beginning of the 19th century it became very popular in Japan, and it became one of the favorite subjects of Japanese prints. The print series by Kuniyoshi was the ignition powder for the fashion of Japanese body tattoos. In addition to the series of individual portraits, this series consisted of twelve prints (here number 5) each showing nine of the heroes. A great pair with Item 4831!