Toyohara Chikanobu 豊原周延

Depicted amidst lightning bolts and falling petals, six armed female figures are dressed in vibrant robes decorated with fantastical creatures. These dramatic figures take center stage in this visualization of the Chinese martial-arts novel The Legend of the Water Margins (Suikoden 水滸傳). Considered as one of the four great classical novels of Chinese literature, this book relates the exploits of 108 bandits esteemed for their bravery. During Japan’s Edo period (1615–1868) the Suikoden was highly popular, and readapted for theater productions and illustrated in woodblock prints. This triptych presents a readaptation in which the male bandits are all replaced with heroic females.