Heroes & Samurai

Edo, 1847: Kuniyoshi sets down the retainers who avenged their lord. Japanese woodblock prints of samurai, warriors and heroes from the 1840s to the 1890s begin with his Seichu Gishi Den, portraits of the 47 Ronin, giving each man who acted in 1703 his own sheet: Oribe Yasubei, Hayano Kampei, Yazama Kihei, Yoshida Chuzaemon. Other prints follow the Tale of Genji, Inuzuka Shino of the Hakkenden, Hidesato rescuing the dragon princess, mounted samurai in battle and tattooed heroes in winter, through to the Loyal Heroes of Recent Times and triptychs of the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-95. Armor, banners and rearing horses make these the most kinetic of ukiyo-e. A run of ronin portraits up a stairwell gathers real momentum.