絵本忠義水滸伝 巻4-7
This is a Japanese illustrated picture book (ehon) of the Water Margin (Suikoden) tale, volumes 4 to 7, compiled and adapted by Shimizu Ichijirō and published by him in 1884 in Japan for a general reading audience. Its woodblock-style prints show bearded warriors in flowing robes fighting crowds of attackers amid bamboo screens, fences and gnarled trees. A designer could draw on the energetic crowd action, the dense hatched backgrounds and the vertical columns of Japanese text set beside the figures.
