MUSHA-E ("warrior pictures") constitute one of the major and most dynamic sub-genres of ukiyo-e, the populist art of 19th century Japan.
From Hokusai to Kyosai, virtually all of ukiyo-e's greatest artists created musha-e, in particular Kuniyoshi and Yoshitoshi. It was Kuniyoshi who, inspired by the likes of Hokusai, Kunisada and Toyokuni, popularized the warrior print with his series 108 Suikoden Heroes in 1827. In his wake came Yoshitora, Yoshikazu, Yoshitsuya, Yoshiiku, Kuniteru, Kunichika, Toyonobu, Nobukazu, and many other classic artists, forming a body of dazzling, often bloody works which span the 19th century.
"The Savage Samurai" presents 300 rare and exceptional Japanese warrior prints, presented in full-page format and full colour throughout. These pictures are collected in the same volume for the first time ever, forming a definitive introduction to ukiyo-e's most visually arresting and exciting sub-genre.
The Ukiyo-e Master Series: presenting seminal collections of art by the greatest print-designers and painters of Edo-period and Meiji-period Japan.
