Utagawa Kuniyoshi (歌川国芳) (artist 11/15/1797 – 03/05/1861)
Hakumenrōkun Teitenja (白面郎君鄭天壽 - aka Zheng Tianshou, the Fair-Faced Gentleman) from the series One Hundred and Eight Heroes of the Popular Shuihuzhuan (Tsūzoku Suikoden gōketsu hyakuhachinin no hitori - 通俗水滸伝豪傑百八人之一個)
ca 1827
9.75 in x 14 in (Overall dimensions) Japanese woodblock print
Signed: Ichiyūsai Kuniyoshi ga
一勇斎国芳画
British Museum
Tokyo National Museum
Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Art
Art Institute of Chicago In the original Chinese version of this tale Zheng Tianshou is first mentioned in Chapter 32. [The Chinese version only has 100 chapters.] It says:
The man on the right had a clean fair complexion, and his face was adorned with a mustache and a goatee. He was tall, slim, broad-shouldered, and handsome. His head was bound with red silk. He came from Suzhou, and his name was Zheng Tianshou. But because of his good looks he was known as the Fair-Faced Gentleman. He had been a silversmith and, since childhood, had been very fond of spears and staves. Eventually he drifted into the gallant fraternity. While passing Clear Winds Mountain he met and fought the Stumpy Tiger fifty or sixty rounds, with neither able to best the other. Yan, impressed by his skill, invited him to join them as third in command.****
Inge Klompmakers wrote:
"Hakumenrōkun Teitenja, Kinmōko Enjun and Waikyakuko Ōei... command a gang of robbers. One Day, Teitenja, a former silversmith, becomes involved in a fight with Ōei. The two men prove equal in strength and Enjun is so impressed by Teitenja's abilities that he asks him to become a member of the gang which he and Ōei already lead. Teitenja gladly accepts the invitation and in chapter 31 the three robbers unknowingly capture Kohōgi Sōkō. As the robbers are about to tear his heart out, Sōkō reveals his identity. The three men are extremely ashamed that they had wanted to murder such an honourable, brave man as Sōkō and to celebrate Sōkō's presence they organise a sumptuous banquet. In chapter 33 the three chieftains rescue Shōrikō Kaei... and Sōkō from the authorities, and together they enlist in the Ryōsanpaku legion in chapter 34."
"Kuniyoshi's portrait of Teitenja refers to chapter 112 when the hero chases an enemy fleeing to his castle near Nochigishū. Poison arrows and large rocks are shot and thrown at Teitenja as he approaches the castle gate. The Ryōsanpaku hero continues his search for the enemy but dies shortly thereafter from his injuries."
Quoted from: Of Brigands and Bravery: Kuniyoshi's Heroes of the Suikoden by Inge Klompmakers, p. 170 with a full-page illustration on page 171.
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Illustrated:
1) in a full-page color reproduction in Ukiyo-e: The Art of the Japanese Print by Frederick Harris, Tuttle Publishing, 2010, p. 152.
2) in 原色浮世絵大百科事典 (Genshoku Ukiyoe Daihyakka Jiten), vol. 1, p.87.
3) in a full-page in a color reproduction in Of Brigands and Bravery: Kuniyoshi's Heroes of the Suikoden by Inge Klompmakers, Hotei Publishing, 1998, #55, page 171.
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There is another copy of this print in the Ishikawa Prefectural Museum.
Kagaya Kichiemon (加賀屋吉右衛門) (publisher)
warrior prints (musha-e - 武者絵) (genre)
Suikoden (水滸傳) (genre)