TWO OBAN TATE-E DRAWINGS Painted in ink and colour on paper, from the series “Tsûzoku Suikoden gôketsu hyakuhachinin no hitori” (One of the 108 heroes of Suikoden in the popular version), the famous series by KUNIYOSHI (1798–1861), depicting, respectively, Kantô (Chinese: Han Tao), nicknamed Hyakushôshô “the General of a Hundred Victories”, the 42nd hero in the Mount Liang ranking, and Admiral Tômô (Chinese: Tong Men), nicknamed Honkôshin, ‘the Sea Monster that Unleashes the River’, the 69th hero. Neither of these drawings is signed; the gourd-shaped cartouche, characteristic of Kuniyoshi, has been left blank. Japan, 19th century TWO COLOUR DRAWINGS ON PAPER FROM THE SUIKODEN SERIES BY KUNIYOSHI, JAPAN, 19TH CENTURY. DIM. 37.7 X 26.2 CM (14 13/16 X 10 5/16 IN.) Note This series illustrating the Suikoden is the first woodblock print work to take the Chinese epic novel *Water Margin* as its subject. It is regarded as Kuniyoshi’s masterpiece. Of the 108 heroes in the novel, some sources indicate that only 74 illustrations were published as prints in successive series between 1827 and 1836; these two drawings are not among them. On the website ‘Kuniyoshiproject.com’, Robert Schaap presents ten other drawings from this series. All bear the same title cartouche, but none are signed. They are traditionally attributed to Kuniyoshi, but uncertainty remains as to whether they are designs for future prints that were never printed or finished works in their own right.