Printed to order

Zhang Shun, from the 108 Heroes by Utagawa Kuniyoshi

Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Late 1820s

$200.00

Item no. PDKUW016-00

Order within 31d 01h 34m 32s to have it by ChristmasOrder by Mon, Nov 30, 11:59 PM ET

The tattooed swimmer: Utagawa Kuniyoshi’s Zhang Shun, from the 108 Heroes of the Suikoden, on stretched canvas, framed, or on fine art paper.

Format

Stretched canvasfrom $200 Framed canvasfrom $240 Framed printfrom $290 Fine art printfrom $100

Size

Which size fits your wall

Every size keeps the painting's own proportions. Framed sizes are measured on the outside of the frame, so the visible painting is a little smaller.

20 × 28 in 51 × 71 cm

Three-seat sofa, 84 in wide × 34 in tall (213 × 86 cm)

Size	Metric	Where it works
20 × 28 in	51 × 71 cm	Plays well with others: the middle of a gallery wall, a pair side by side, or a hallway on its own.
28 × 40 in	71 × 102 cm	Holds a wall on its own above a dresser, console or sideboard. Above a bed or a sofa, hang two side by side.

Rule of thumb: choose art about two-thirds the width of the furniture beneath it.

20 × 28 in51 × 71 cm 28 × 40 in71 × 102 cm

Frame

Black White Natural wood Dark wood

Make it a gift

Gift note

We write it on a card and tuck it in behind the painting. The price never appears in the box.

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Subtotal $200.00

Printed to order in 1–3 business days
Free US shipping, tracked, 5–12 business days
30-day returns and exchanges
Damage cover included: we remake and reship

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Questions about sizes or framing? Ask us

This print is black and indigo waves round a tattooed hero, and a cheap copy turns the detail to mud. Our Kuniyoshi Zhang Shun print was graded beside Cleveland’s impression so every tattoo line and wave stays sharp.

Canvas, framed or paper

Stretched canvas. Printed on cotton canvas and stretched taut over a frame. The edges are mirror-wrapped, so the picture continues around the sides and none of it is lost to the fold.

Framed canvas. The same canvas, set in a black, white, natural wood or dark wood frame 0.83 in deep. The frame gives the work a finished edge and a little more presence on the wall.

Framed print. Printed on fine art matte paper and framed in solid pine, behind shatterproof plexiglass, in black, white, natural wood or dark wood. It arrives ready to hang. Framed sizes are measured on the outside of the frame.

Fine art print. Printed on 310gsm fine art matte paper, for framing your own way. It travels rolled and protected. From 18x24 inch.

Sizes

20x28 inch, 28x40 inch. Framed sizes are measured on the outside of the frame, so the visible painting is a little smaller.

On your wall

Its tall shape suits a study, a hallway or a bold narrow wall, and it is a favourite for tattoo lovers. The blacks and indigos look striking with white, charcoal and dark wood, and a black frame suits it.

About the painting

Zhang Shun, from the 108 Heroes by Utagawa Kuniyoshi

The 108 heroes

In 1827 the publisher Kagaya Kichibei asked Utagawa Kuniyoshi for a series of the 108 heroes of the Chinese novel Water Margin, the Suikoden. It made him famous almost overnight.

White Stripe in the Waves

Zhang Shun is the hero called White Stripe in the Waves, a swimmer who could stay underwater for a long time and fight on land or in water. Kuniyoshi shows him in the churning river, blade drawn.

Tattoos

Kuniyoshi covered his heroes in tattoos, and the series set off a craze in Edo for full-body tattoos. Our print reproduces the impression in the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Listen to the story

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Read the story

This is the print that made Kuniyoshi famous, or one of them.

Utagawa Kuniyoshi was a silk-dyer's son from Edo. For years he struggled, so poor he sold old tatami mats.

Then, in 1827, the publisher Kagaya Kichibei asked him for a series: the 108 heroes of a Chinese adventure novel, the Water Margin. In Japan it was called the Suikoden.

Kuniyoshi covered his heroes in tattoos. The series was a sensation, and it set off a craze in Edo for full-body tattoos.

This hero is Zhang Shun, nicknamed White Stripe in the Waves.

In the novel he's a wonderful swimmer who can stay underwater for a long time, and fight just as well in the water as on land.

So Kuniyoshi shows him in a churning river, tattooed from neck to thigh, blade drawn, the black waves twisting around him.

Down at the right is his signature, Ichiyūsai Kuniyoshi ga, and the mark of his publisher, Kagaya.

This impression belongs to the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Look at the tattoos, and then at the water.

Zhang Shun, from the 108 Heroes of the Suikoden. Utagawa Kuniyoshi, late 1820s.

The artist

Utagawa Kuniyoshi

1798–1861 · Ukiyo-e

Japanese ukiyo-e master of the Utagawa school, a silk-dyer’s son from Edo. His tattooed heroes of the Suikoden made him famous in 1827; he went on to draw ghosts, warriors, cats he adored, and Edo landscapes full of rain, snow and moonlight.

More by Utagawa Kuniyoshi

The original

Artist: Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1798–1861)
Date: Late 1820s
Medium: Colour woodblock print
Where it hangs today: Cleveland Museum of Art (the museum’s page, opens in a new tab)
Originals: A woodblock print, one impression of an edition; ours reproduces the museum’s impression
Original size: 38 × 25.7 cm

Graded against the original: true to the artist’s colours, brought back to life for your wall.

How each piece is brought to life

Faithful to the original, and made to be felt on your wall.

Graded against the original

We compare every work with the original as we grade it, keeping the artist’s colours true while bringing back their depth and glow. Every mark stays the artist’s own.
Printed for you

Printed to order on cotton canvas or fine art paper, then framed if you chose a frame, in 1 to 3 business days.
On your wall

It arrives 5 to 12 business days later, tracked and free anywhere in the US. Framed pieces come ready to hang.

Questions

Is this the original painting?

No. The original hangs in a museum. What you receive is a fine art reproduction, remastered from the original and printed for you, with every mark where the artist left it.

Will the colour look flat?

This is where most reproductions disappoint, and it is where we spend the most time. Each work is graded side by side with the original: faithful to the artist’s colours, with the depth and warmth brought back, so it moves you on the wall the way it was meant to. Canvas reads a touch softer than a backlit screen, and every screen shows colour a little differently.

Will the edges be cropped?

Each size is a standard frame size, so we fit the painting by trimming a little from its edges. We never stretch or squash it, and we check every size by eye so no face, figure or signature is cut. On canvas the edges are mirror-wrapped, which keeps the whole picture on the front.

Which size is right for my wall?

Aim for about two-thirds the width of the furniture beneath it. Over a sofa or a sideboard, one of the two largest sizes will hold the wall. The size guide lists every size in inches and centimetres, with the kind of wall each one suits.

How long does it take?

Your piece is printed in 1–3 business days, then spends 5–12 business days in transit, tracked all the way. Delivery is free anywhere in the US. We are unable to deliver to PO boxes.

What if it arrives damaged?

Send us a photograph and we will remake it and send it again. There is nothing to return.

Can I return it?

Yes, within 30 days of delivery. Our returns policy has the details.