Cao Zheng, the Sword Wielding Devil (Sōtōki Sōsei) from the series One Hundred and Eight Heroes of the Popular Water Margin (Tsūzoku Suikoden gōketsu hyakuhachinin no hitori) 「操刀鬼曹正」 『通俗水滸傳濠傑百八人一個』

Object Details

• Artist

  Utagawa Kuniyoshi 歌川国芳 (1798-1861)

• Publisher

  Kagaya Kichiemon (Seiseido) 加賀屋吉右衛門 (active ca. 1815-1850)

• Label

  In East Asia, the dragon is associated with water and rain, and is also one of the twelve animals of the zodiac. As in Kuniyoshi's vivid and innovative prints of warriors and heroes in the late 1820s and 1830s, this image of a dragon emerging from clouds presents large-scale, dynamic figures whose forms and movement defy the lateral boundaries and surface plane of the print. Kuniyoshi's powerful design, with its limited color scheme dominated by black and gray, recalls a long tradition of Japanese ink paintings of dragons that had begun centuries earlier with the introduction of the subject through Chinese ink paintings imported to Japan.

• Collection

  National Museum of Asian Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Masterful Illusions: Japanese Prints from the Anne van Biema Collection (September 15, 2002 to January 9, 2003)

• Origin

  Japan

• Credit Line

  The Anne van Biema Collection

• Type

  Print

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1700s, 1710s, 1720s, 1770s, 1780s, 1790s, 1730s, 1740s, 1750s, 1760s, 1800s, 1810s, 1820s, 1830s, 1610s, 1650s, 1640s, 1630s, 1620s, 1690s, 1840s, 1680s, 1850s, 1670s, 1860s, 1660s

• Name

  Kagaya, Kichiemon, Utagawa, Kuniyoshi

• Place

  Japan

• Topic

  Warrior, Art, Oban, Edo period, Japan, (1600 - 1868), Japanese Art, Anne van Biema collection, Heroes, Ukiyo-e, Tattoo, Octopuses

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Prints