Simply Haiku: A Quarterly Journal of Japanese Short Form Poetry
Spring 2009, vol 7 no 1
TRADITIONAL HAIGA
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Kassenba Oteiroku by Utagawa,
Kuniyoshi
Date: c 1830
21 x 17 inches
Woodblock
Print
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.
Here the
former innkeeper Kassenba Oteirokuin uses his hands, feet, and some ropes to
restrain three opponents.
Robyn Buntin of Honolulu Gallery
Copyright 2009: Simply Haiku