Kunisada: The Nine-Dragon Tattoo-Bearing Ichikawa Ichizo III as Nozarashi Gosuke 九紋竜支進に比すのざらし語助

Artist: Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III) (1786-1865)Title: Actor Kataoka Nizaemon VIII as Yume no Ichirobei, Compared to the Chinese Water Margin hero Zhang Shun (Chôjun ni hisu)  張順に比す夢の市郎兵衛 Series: Tosei Suikoden 當世好男子傳 (A Modern Suikoden) Date: 1858 The actor Ichikawa Ichizô III as Nozarashi Gosuke, Comparable to Shi Jin, the Nine-Dragoned (Kyûmonryû Shishin ni hisu). Gosuke turns to our left, casually shrugging off the sleeve of his kimono to reveal the extensive and namesake nine-dragon tattoos that cover his arms and torso. His kimono features a skull and bones with pampas grass, the bones and skull even featuring a blindprinted pattern. His tie-dye patterned towel hangs over his shoulders. In this series famous actors were compared to characters in the Suikoden, the Chinese tale of marsh-dwelling antiheroes. Shi Jin first appears in Chapter 2 of the Chinese version of the Suikoden; he was skilled in martial arts and bested other outlaw-robbers; these gang members then became his