The story of the 108 heroes of the Suikoden goes back to an old Chinese story about the adventures of 108 rebels who fought against social injustice and for the rights of the common man.  These rebels were a favorite subject of storytellers because of their outlandish exploits. These tales were compiled in a novel written in the 14th century entitled SHUIHU ZHUAN (The Water Margin)   It was called the Water Margin because the heroes lived in a hide-out near the Liangshan marsh.  This very popular novel was translated into Japanese, and the most famous one was by Takizawa Bakin and Hokusai entitled, the NEW ILLUSTRATED EDITION OF THE SUIKODEN.  This publication took Edo by storm and the publisher Kagaya Kichibei commissioned Kuniyoshi to design prints for a Suikoden series, which made the artist the most famous musha-e (warrior print) artist of his day.  

There can be no other event that has resonated with the Japanese understanding of the samurai than Chushingura, the story of the Forty-Seven Ronin.  A classic legend of revenge, it illustrates the extent to which the samurai would go to defend their moral code.
    The story of the Forty-Seven Ronin started with the unfortunate incident within the palace grounds in Edo, called the Ako Incident.  The daimyo, Lord Asano Takumi-no-Kami Naganori of Ako was required to take part in a formal ceremony. The protocols of the ceremony were being taught by the Shogun’s chief chamberlain Kira Kozuke-no-Suke.  As the leader of ceremonies, Kira received gifts from the participating daimyo.  Unsatisfied by his gifts from Lord Asano, Kira began to insult and humiliate Asano, finally coming to a point that was unbearable.  After all effort at self control, Asano drew his dagger on Kira in a fit of rage.  Drawing a weapon within the palace was forbidden and anyone doing so was ultimately forced to commit seppuku (ritual suicide).  Kira was only scratched but the deed had been done and Asano was arrested and forced to commit seppuku.  When word reached Ako about what had happened, Lord Asano’s chief councilor Oishi Kuranosuke relocated the family, dissolved the Asano household and surrendered the castle to authorities.  
In great secrecy, Oishi and close to fifty loyal retainers of Lord Asano planned in detail the revenge of their master’s humiliation and death.  Oishi divorced his wife and took up with a courtesan to feign a life of drunken dissipation.  Arms were secretly gathered and the Kira residence was kept under constant surveillance.  On the snowy eve of December 14th , 1702, the ronin gathered and crossed the bridge over the Sumida River and went directly to the Kira residence.  Their plans went perfectly and Kira Kozuke-no-Suke was caught.  He was offered the honorable end of seppuku but out of cowardice, he refused.  Oishi Kuranosuke quickly beheaded him and the ronin placed it on Lord Asano’s grave with the same dagger that their Lord had attacked Kira with.   A prayer was also laid there that his spirit may strike that face again to dispel the hatred forever.  The entire group of ronin were then arrested and later forced to commit seppuku for their acts of revenge.  They were buried beside their Lord in Ako.  At that time as well as today, the public sympathized with the ronin and looked upon their acts as courageous and honorable.  These are the acts of true samurai and should be admired.

Buddhist belief of deliverance from the cycle of birth and death, which continues only as long as desires are present.

A plastic-based painting medium which, because it is water soluble, dries quickly and cleans up easily. Especially popular in the 1960s and 1970s for effects ranging from translucent watercolour-like washes to opaque hard-edges in bright colours, acrylic seems to have been declining in popularity since the new image movement of the early 1980s restored interest in oil as a medium.

Japanese wood-block print size, about 13 x 9 inches, 22.5 x 34.5 cm

A lacquer technique in which sharkskin nodules are surrounded with a halo of indigo.

The fearsome King of physical and worldly desires, was believed to transform love and lust, among all the desires that gravely affect sentient beings, into mind aspiring bodhi, or enlightenment.

A lacquer technique used in Fukushima Prefecture.

Prints colored predominantly or entirely in shades of blue. Mostly seen in prints of the late 1820s to early 1840s.

A red printed picture.

This literally means 'red powder' and refers to metallic dust.

The following prints are copies of famous surimono, so-called Akashi copies, named after the Japanese town where they were faithfully reproduced in the 1890s. Many of these copies (the 'copy-A' versions) show the same elaborate printing techniques as the originals of the early 19th century. That is why they were taken for originals as late as into the 1970s. It was only in the ground-breaking publication of Roger Keyes, "The art of surimono", that their existence was documented for the first time. Original surimono were often commissioned by poetry circles and privately published. Surimono represent the peak in Japanese woodblock printing techniques. Their costly production resulted in very limited editions of a handful of impressions of each design only. So it doesn't come as a surprise that Akashi copies have become collectors' items within the last years, not only because of their incredible faithfulness to the originals, but above all because of their true beauty.

In his position of power, it was the Emperor Yuryaku's penchant to add beautiful girls to his harem. As a young man, he met one such beauty as he was passing along the banks of a river. She was washing clothes there. He learned that her name was Akawiko and that she was unmarried. He told her not to marry, for he intended to send for her to become his concubine. Then he left her and continued on his way with his attendants. Akawiko was honored to think that she would have the opportunity of serving Yuryaku and sougt to prepare herself for the time when an Imperial messenger would come to escort her to the palace. However, as the years went by, no one summoned her. She had refused all offers of marriage and her beauty faded. Finally, as an old woman, she decided to present herself to the emperor to show that she had been faithful to him. She found an appropriate gift to offer him and set off. When she was presented to the emperor, he asked why such an old woman came to see him. She replied with respect, but earnestly reminded him of his own demands on her, all that had happened since, and that she had come to prove her promise and fidelity to him. Yuryaku was shocked and saddened, admitting that he was at fault in wasting her prime for naught. He composed a special verse to her, to which she replied in song, 'She who has bloomed like the lotus flower is greatly envied'. The emperor was charmed yet again by the once lovely woman and sent Akawiko on her way with many valuable gifts.

The use of symbols and allusions in literature and the visual arts to give a work secondary meaning.

Fisher-girl

The Buddha of Western Paradise.

Mindfulness of breathing, a common meditation technique which can lead to joyous, trance-like states known as jhanas.  It is often used in samatha meditation as a means of developing concentration and calm.

On the banks of the Hidaka river, in the ancient temple called Dojoji, there once lived a saintly young monk called Anchin. Every year he made the pilgrimage to the Three Holy Places of Kumano, and it was his habit to stop at an inn in the village of Musago. The innkeeper had a daughter, a pretty child named Kiyohime, whom Anchin played with, petted, and brought little gifts for on his annual visits. It never occurred to him that her childish affection for him would turn into passionate love as she grew.

Thus Anchin was surprised and shocked when, on one visit, she suddenly declared her great love for him, and asked him to take her away and marry her. He explained that such a thing was impossible because of his sacred vows of chastity, and he hastily returned to his monastery. Kiyohime refused to take 'no' for an answer. She pursued him everywhere; her indecent propositions becoming more and more pressing and harasssing to Anchin. She sought the help of infernal spirits in her quest, but Anchin's piousness saved him. His persistent refusals began to anger her until, ultimately, her great love turned into great hate, as such things often do.

Kiyohime pursued him into the temple itself. Seeing her approach, Anchin, with the help of other monks, hid under the great bell of Dojoji in desperation. When she discovered his hiding place and approached the bell, it fell, trapping Anchin completely. Her rage and fiery fury started to transform Kiyohime. Her face became like that of Hannya and her body turned into that of a snake or the tail of a dragon, emitting flames everywhere. She wrapped herself around the bell, striking it with her tail and a T-shaped magical stick again and again, until the blows and the flames from her body melted the bronze, incinerating both Anchin and herself. Of Anchin there remained a little white dust, but of Kiyohime nothing.

This story is told with a number of variations. In another popular version, Kiyohime already turns into a dragon as she swims across the Hidaka river one night in pursuit of Anchin. Seeing her coming, Anchin hides under the great bell, with the same fatal results as above.

In the interesting and exciting Kabuki dance version, the story is told in retrospect: On a certain day, to the shock of the priests, a beautiful girl asks admittance to Dojoji temple. At their refusal of this brazen request, she explains that she is a temple dancer traveling from place to place in order to collect funds for the reconstruction of a temple that was destroyed by fire. The priests finally admit her. As she performs her sacred dance, they become alarmed as she keeps glancing malevolently at the new temple bell. When they try to stop her dancing, the bell falls over her, and she re-emerges as a fearsome snake-demon. She battles the priests, who fall back in alarm, and the girl climactically mounts the bell in triumph.

(by Denis Szeszler)

Mother of pearl.

A greenish iridescent shell powder.

A gold-silver powder.

A print-making technique.  A print produced by the same technique as an etching, except that the areas between the etched lines are covered with a powdered resin that protects the surface from the biting process of the acid bath. The granular appearance that results in the print aims at approximating the effects and gray tonalities of a watercolor drawing.

Rough-cut. The general form of the image is shaped with an ax or round chisel.

The expression aragoto is an abbreviation of aramushagoto, which means litterally "the reckless warrior matter". This is in fact a Kabuki bombastic style exagerrating all the aspects of the role (acting, wig, make-up (kumadori), costumes, dialogue, oversized swords) to portray valiant warriors, fierce gods or demons. This style was created in Edo by Ichikawa Danjûrô I and is considered a "familly art" for this line of actors.

Also *kiwame 極. The printed censor seals that appear on an *ukiyo-e print. The Kansei reforms instituted by Matsudaira Sadanobu (1758-1829) included a requirement, dated XI/1790, that the preliminary drawings, *hanshita, for woodblock prints be submitted for inspection at the office of the Edo City Magistrate, machibugyou. Permission for publication was granted by the impression of a small oval seal which, during the years 1791-1842, included the character kiwame, "examined." This seal was carved into the key block, sumiita, and in effect became part of the design, and so appeared on all prints. Actual inspection seems to have been carried out by officials, gyouji, selected on rotation from members of the publishers' guild: thus publishers were self-regulating. On some prints published between 1811 and 1815, the personal seals of individual gyouji appear in conjunction with the kiwame seal. In addition, date seals containing the zodiacal character for that year (eg. rat 子, ox 丑, tiger 寅, etc.) plus the number of the month in which the print was published (eg. one 一, two 二, three 三, etc.) sometimes were impressed along with other seals. Date seals were used in the years 1805-10, 1814, and 1852-75, in particular. Censorship of woodblock prints was further tightened during the Tenpou reforms and from 1843 on. In place of the kiwame seal, personal seals of individual censoring officials, nanushi; a higher rank than gyouji, were used in various combinations. In 1853 the system was again changed. The seals of individual nanushi disappeared, to be replaced by a single seal containing the character aratame 改, "inspected," which was often used in conjunction with (or incorporated inside) the type of date seal described above. In 1875 the use of censor seals was discontinued, from which time the date of publication and the name and address of the publisher appeared in the margin of the print. The various combinations of censor and other seals can be a valuable guide to the dating of a particular woodblock print.

An Artist's Proof is one outside the regular edition, but printed at the same time or after the regular edition from the same plates without changes. By custom, the artist retains the A/Ps for his personal use or sale.

An arrangement of forms that do not appear to be the same on either side of an imaginary center line.

French term for printer's workshop.

A group active in the invention and application of new ideas and techniques in an original or experimental way. A group of practitioners and/or advocates of a new art form may also be called avant-garde. Some avant-garde works are intended to shock those who are accustomed to traditional, established styles.

The years 1568 - 1600.