Once More Unto The Breach is a rich and fascinating exploration of two important Japanese cultural heritages; Samurai warriors and the woodblock printmaking art form of Ukiyo-E. I’ve always had a keen interest in both, having carved my own woodblock prints back in art school, but another reason is because of my recent time spent playing FromSoftware’s excellent video game Sekiro, which is based heavily on Japanese mythology.

This book covers a very sizeable list of samurai warriors and heroes, including the Genji and Heike clans (hereditary clan names bestowed by the emperors of the Heian period), samurai warriors of the Sengoku period (a century-long period of political upheaval and warlordism in Japan), the swordsman and poet Miyamoto Musashi, Eight Dog Warriors from the novel The Eight Dog Chronicles written in the Edo period, Jiraiya (the toad-riding Ninja character from Japanese folklore)and the Forty-seven Ronin. Even the titular characters from China’s Romance Of The Three Kingdoms like Guau-Yu, CaoCao and LuiBei are featured. Although they’re not Samurai, their stories were frequently depicted in Ukiyo-E art back in the day.

The list of artists featured are equally fantastic – the who’s who of the Ukiyo-E art form including Hokusai, Hiroshige, Kuniyoshi and Yoshitoshi.

(image above and below) The Former Emperor [Sutoku] from Sanuki Sends His Retainers to Rescue Tametomo (Sanuki no in kenzoku o shite Tametomo o sukuu zu), circa 1851–1852 by Utagawa Kuniyoshi. See more in his art book.

A most splendid volume that is sure to thrill if you have a strong interest in the Samurai, Japanese mythology and folklore, as well as the art of Ukiyo-E. Highly recommended.

“Once more unto the breach : Samurai Warriors and Heroes in Ukiyo-e Masterpieces″ art book details :

– Dimensions – 7.2 x 0.9 x 8.8 inches
– Soft cover, 240 pages
– Full color, In Japanese & English

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