Ehon Tsūzoku Sangoku Shi

Ehon Tsuzoku Sangoku Shi is a nineteenth-century single-volume woodblock-printed book by Katsushika Taito II held by the Art Institute of Chicago. The title identifies it as a popular illustrated version of Sangoku Shi—the Japanese rendering of the great Chinese historical romance Sanguo Yanyi (Romance of the Three Kingdoms). The Three Kingdoms cycle, set in the chaotic end of the Han dynasty, was one of the most beloved sources of dramatic subject matter in Edo-period Japan, providing characters and scenes for kabuki theatre, ukiyo-e prints, and many illustrated books. Taito II's volume contributes to this tradition, presenting the heroic battles and stratagems of figures such as Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhuge Liang in the bold Hokusai-school style. As an ehon, the book was designed for a literate popular audience rather than for the connoisseur market, with prose narrative interleaved with full-page or double-page illustrations. The Art Institute's holding documents the kind of commercial book work that occupied Taito II throughout his long career alongside his more luxurious surimono designs.