Twenty-Eight Famous Murders with Verse

Twenty-Eight Famous Murders with Verse (Japanese: 英名二十八衆句, Hepburn: eimei nijūhasshūku) is a series of ukiyo-e woodblock prints by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi and Utagawa Yoshiiku,^[1] with each artist creating 14 prints.^[2] It was published from 1866 to 1867 (Keiō 2 to Keio 3). Most of the works are based on acts of murder or torture based on historical events which were later depicted in kabuki and noh theatre.^[2] The series is considered a masterpiece and defining piece of the so-called "cruel pictures" (muzan-e) genre of ukiyo-e. The main title is inscribed in a red rectangular frame along with the subject of the painting, and on the left, in a white rectangular frame, are haiku supposedly by Matsuo Bashō, Ryota Oshima [ja], Mukai Kyorai, and others. The series supposedly contains text from 10 different authors, although one author was listed twice.^[3] The term "eimei nijūhasshūku" is based on the Buddhist "Twenty-Eight Mansions",^[4] and the word "shūku" (衆句, "a collection of poems") is a pun on "shuku" (衆苦, meaning "mass suffering".)^[5] The series was published by Nishikimorido.