Album of Suikoden Portraits with Kyōka Poems (Kyōka suikoden gazōshū 狂歌水滸伝画像集)
An 1829 Japanese woodblock album by Totoya Hokkei (1780-1850) presenting portraits of Suikoden heroes, each paired with a kyōka comic poem written in the margins for a literate urban readership. The pictures show full-length warriors in dynamic poses, brandishing spears, staves, swords and halberds, in patterned robes and armour, with bold outlines and flat colour washes. A designer could draw on their energetic silhouettes, dramatic diagonal gestures and the way calligraphic text sits beside the figures.
