Utagawa Yoshiharu (歌川芳春) (artist 1828 – 1888)
Lu Zhishen, the tattooed priest (Kaoshō Rochishin - 花和尚魯智深) from the series Mirror of Heroes of the Shuihuzhuan (Suikoden gōketsu kagami - 水滸傳豪傑鏡)
12/1856
9.75 in x 14.375 in (Overall dimensions) Japanese woodblock print
Signed: Ichibaisai Yoshiharu ga
一梅斎芳春画
Publisher: Yamaguchiya Tōbei
(Marks 591 - seal not listed)
Censor seal: aratame
Date: 12/1856
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Lyon Collection - Kuniyoshi print of this heroic figure
Lyon Collection - Shi Jin, the Nine Dragons print
Lyon Collection - Hakujitsuso Hakushō from this series
Lyon Collection - Kyūmonryū Shishin from this series
Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, the University of California Lu Da, the original name of Lu Zhishen, first appears in Chapter 3 (p. 46) of the Outlaws of the Marsh. Shi Jin, Nine Dragons, - see Lyon Collection #1306 - is in search of his arms master, when he entered a small tea-house to make inquiries. He is told that the major to the local command walked in:
While the waiter was talking, a big fellow who looked like an army officer strode in. His head was bound in a bandanna with figured swastikas, buckled in the back with twisted gold rings from Taiyuan. A raven-black plaited sash bound his parrot-green warrior's gown at the waist. On his feet were yellow boots embossed with four welts of brown leather in hawk talon design. He had large ears, a straight nose and a broad mouth. A full beard framed his round face. He was six feet tall and had a girth of ten spans.[*****]
When the new-comer had taken a seat, the waiter said to Shi Jin: "That's the major. You can ask him about Wang Jin. He knows all the arms instructors."
Shi Jin rose quickly and bowed. "May I invite you to some tea, sir? Please join me."
The officer saw that Shi Jin was a big stalwart fellow who seemed a man of valor. He walked over and returned his greeting. Then the two sat down together.
"May I be so bold as to ask your name, sir?" Shi Jin queeried.
"I'm called Lu Da. I'm a major in this garrison. And who are you brother?
In Chapter 8 Kaoshō Rochishin comes upon two corrupt guards and is intent on intimidating them. He threatens to separate their heads from their bodies. To prove that he can do this "[Kaoshō Rochishin] lifted up his staff and struck a pine tree a blow two inches deep, and the tree fell cleanly over, unsplintered. He shouted, 'You two accursed, if you have evil plans in your hearts your head shall be cut off like this tree!' "
Quoted from: All Men are Brothers by Pearl Buck, p. 85.
****
Scholten Japanese Art wrote:
Rochishin (Lu Chi Shen in Chinese) is an anti-hero from the Suikoden (Tales of the Water Margin), a 16th century collection of stories considered to be one of the classics of Chinese literature. Rochishin, the tattooed subject of the lower sheet, is an outlaw. He was once a police officer named Rotatsu. In that capacity he killed a butcher who had abused his (the butcher's) mistress. The mistress' father advised Rotatsu to take the monk's name Rochishin and retire to the monastery on Mount Godai. Once on the mountain, he became widely feared for robbing merchants and drinking heavily, the latter of which activities was often followed by vomiting and urinating in the temple. After taking time to gather their courage, the monks forced him out of the monastery, at which point Rochishin joined a gang of thieves.****
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the life of a robber suited him well. He soon returned to the Mount Godai monastery when a rival gang found refuge within the temple walls. In this composition, Yoshitoshi depicts him by the monastery's entrance fiercely dismantling its sacred Nio (Buddhist guardian statue, also called Kongo). The drunken outlaw, whose determination is evident by his gritted face and athletic posture, holds firm beneath a heavy beam and falling green posts. The teetering Nio threatens him from above.
The Flower Priest
Rochishin was often referred to as the Flower (or Floral) Priest. The best manifestation of this is the tattoo of cherry blossoms on his upper torso and arms and on his upper legs. Originally, in some earlier prints, it was often prunus blossoms, the first harbinger of spring. Later for various reasons it was changed to cherry blossoms.
Yamaguchiya Tōbei (山口屋藤兵衛) (publisher)
Suikoden (水滸傳) (genre)
Tattoo (genre)