The Floating World

One Hundred and Eight Heroes of the Popular Suikoden (Tsūzoku Suikoden gōketsu hyakuhachinin no hitori)

Tanmeijirō Genshōgo

短命二郎阮小五 · Tanmeijirō Genshōgo

Utagawa Kuniyoshi · c. 1827–30

What it is

Underwater, Tanmeijirō Genshōgo — “Short-Lived Second Son,” one of the fisherman brothers of the marsh — locks an enemy in a death grapple, blade in hand.

Why it matters

Nobody had staged a fight beneath the surface of a river before; Kuniyoshi’s submerged duel is image-making a century ahead of the cinema it resembles.

What to notice

The current is carved as ribbons that wrap the fight — tattoo and water tangling until skin and river read as one pattern.

Even underwater, he does not let go.

The record

Artist
Utagawa Kuniyoshi 歌川国芳 (1798–1861)
Series
One Hundred and Eight Heroes of the Popular Suikoden (Tsūzoku Suikoden gōketsu hyakuhachinin no hitori)
Date
c. 1827–30
Publisher
Kagaya Kichiemon
Medium
woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Source
The Metropolitan Museum of Art · 2001.715.9

Impression note. Between printings the underwater tones are the tell: early sheets hold distinct layered greens and blues in the water, which later editions merge into a single flat wash. Impression variance is real — printings differ in wiping and fading — and choosing the finest openly held impression is the curatorial act.

Public domain; faithfully reproduced.

Bring it home

Printed to order on EMA matte art paper, 200gsm.

From the same series

Rōshi Ensei — Utagawa KuniyoshiOne Hundred and Eight Heroes of the Popular Suikoden (Tsūzoku Suikoden gōketsu hyakuhachinin no hitori)Rōshi EnseiUtagawa Kuniyoshi · c. 1827–30 · from $69.00Kaoshō Rochishin — Utagawa KuniyoshiOne Hundred and Eight Heroes of the Popular Suikoden (Tsūzoku Suikoden gōketsu hyakuhachinin no hitori)Kaoshō RochishinUtagawa Kuniyoshi · c. 1827–30Kokusenpū Riki — Utagawa KuniyoshiOne Hundred and Eight Heroes of the Popular Suikoden (Tsūzoku Suikoden gōketsu hyakuhachinin no hitori)Kokusenpū RikiUtagawa Kuniyoshi · c. 1827–30Takiyasha the Witch and the Skeleton Spectre — Utagawa KuniyoshiUtagawa KuniyoshiTakiyasha the Witch and the Skeleton SpectreUtagawa Kuniyoshi · c. 1844

The road at your moment — Painted Earth’s ukiyo-e style pack.