Hero: ??
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Format:
- Oban
- Source:
- Art of Japan
Description
This print carries the tantalizing title "Hero: ??" — suggesting either a subject that resisted identification at the time of cataloguing or a print whose cartouche is illegible. Even with uncertain identity, the work belongs to Kuniyoshi's large warrior-portrait output, where standard compositional formulas — standing or crouching figure in armour, weapon at the ready, dramatic background — could accommodate any number of specific named heroes. The question marks are an honest acknowledgment of the ambiguity that surrounds many unsigned or damaged prints.
More Prints by Utagawa Kuniyoshi
Woman as the Hero Taisō in Palanquin Holding a Pipe
c. 1830
Woodblock print (surimono), ink and color on paper
Yan Qing (Roshi Ensei), from the series "One Hundred and Eight Heroes of the Popular Water Margin (Tsuzoku Suikoden goketsu hyakuhachinin no hitori)"
Poem by Abe no Nakamaro, from an untitled series of One Hundred Poems by One Hundred Poets
Hu Sanniang (Ko Sanjo Ichijosei), from the series "One Hundred and Eight Heroes of the Popular Water Margin (Tsuzoku Suikoden goketsu hyakuhachinin no hitori)"
More Figures Prints
Featured in Collections
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Frequently Asked Questions
Hero: ?? was created by Utagawa Kuniyoshi (歌川国芳).
Hero: ?? depicts figures and warriors.