Hakkenden (40 pictures)

This long novel, called Yomihon, describes the adventures of eight samurai. Bakin spent about 30 years on this most famous and representative work. The images above are the cover and title page designs for the first edition of Hakkenden, illustrated by Yanagawa Shigenobu.

Hakkenden is a novel of over 100 volumes that was published in Japan in the first half of the 19th century. Its author, Bakin, was already blind by the end, and his daughter-in-law had to take his dictation. The book follows the adventures of eight samurai brothers and is set in the 15th century. The pictures shown are from the first edition of 'Hakkenden', illustrated by Yanagawa Shigenobu.