In the original text for Water Margin, which was first published in Japanese in the late 18th century, 4 of the 108 bandits chronicled by the tale have tattoos. Only a few of the bandits are described as having body ink and their designs are not always explicitly detailed in the book. In an act of poetic license that would have lasting consequences, Kuniyoshi took it upon himself to interpret the existing tattoos and invent new ones for Du Xing and many more of the bandits.

The rise in popularity and decades-long frenzy for tattoos is detailed in the book Tattoos in Japanese Prints (2017) by Sarah Thompson, curator of Japanese art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston ; it’s also the subject of an ongoing show at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco. According to Thompson, large-scale, full-body tattoos became fashionable amid the distribution of Kuniyoshi’s “Water Margin”printsin the late 1820s. While it remains up for debate whether Kuniyoshi responded to or sparked mainstream interest in tattoos, common lore among tattoo artists credits the printmaker with its popularization around the world.