Lot 381
Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839-1892), Drunken Rochishin (Lu Zhishen) Destroying a Guardian Statue
Lot 381 Details
Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839-1892), Drunken Rochishin (Lu Zhishen) Destroying a Guardian Statue
月冈芳年 (1839–1892) 鲁智深醉打护法神像
Depicting the 'flowery monk' from the Chinese classic 'Water Margin' (Suikoden) destroying a temple guardian statue in a drunken rage; vertical diptych woodblock print, framed
image 29.1 x 10.2 in — 74 x 26 cm
Estimate $1,000-$1,500
Additional Images
Provenance:
Private Estate Collection, Toronto, ON
来源：
加拿大多伦多显赫藏家遗产
Note:
This dynamic diptych by Yoshitoshi depicts a famous narrative centering around the monk Rochishin. Formerly a military captain named Rotatsu, the excommunicated soldier escaped execution after killing a man in a fit of rage by becoming a monk at the Five-Crested Mountain Temple. However, even as a monk, Rochishin retained his violent and uncontrollable outburts. One night, staggering back to the temple drunk, he accidentally knocked down part of the temple gate and, mistaking the looming statue for an attacker, destroyed it in a fit of fury. In the image, he is shown tangled in shattered railings, lifting a broken beam with his muscular, tattooed torso exposed beneath his fallen robe, while the guardian deity towers above him. Known as the "tattooed or flowery monk,” Rochishin persists as a legendary anti-hero in Suikoden, his story blending brute strength, inner turmoil, and mythic drama, and his elaborate cherry blossom tattoos remain iconic among modern Japanese gangsters today.