Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III)

Kabuki Actor, Mid 19th Century Figurative Japanese Woodblock Print

c. 1860's

Sumiyoshi: Dengaku dance performed during an Onda ceremony - Woodblock Print Bright woodblock print by Utagawa Hiroshige (Japanese, 1797-1858). In this scene, two dancers with swords and fans are facing each other, in the center of a courtyard. There are spectators surrounding them, including nobles in black clothing on a balcony. Presented in a new off-white mat with foamcore backing. Mat size: 16"H x 20"W Paper size: 9.63"H x 14.5W" Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858, sometimes called Ando Hiroshige) was the second of the two great masters of the Japanese landscape woodblock print...

Mitate of a Daimyo's Procession Crossing Ryogoku Bridge - Woodblock Print Woodblock print of a procession by Keisai Eisen (Japanese, 1790–1848). Terrific triptych of a procession of...

The Four Seasons: Spring - Japanese Woodblock Triptych in Ink on Paper Colorful kabuki scene by Utagawa Kuniteru (Japanese, active 1818-18...

Actor Arashi Rikan II as Aburaya Yohei - Figurative Woodblock Print on Paper Woodblock print of kabuki actor by Shunbaisai Hokuei (Japanes...

"Shirasuka Rokuro" - Mid 19th Century Figurative Japanese Woodblock Print Beautiful mid 19th century figural Japanese woodblock print of a samurai named Shirasuka Rokuro by Utagawa Toyokuni III (Kunisada) (Japanese, 1786-1864/5). The samurai is holding a spear, standing under a tree with full blossoms. He is wearing an elaborate outfit, including two swords. Artist's signature and chop are in the lower left corner of the piece. Presented in a wood frame with a cream mat. Frame size: 21.5"H x 16.5"W Image size: 13.75"H x 9.5"W During his lifetime Kunisada Utagawa was considered to be the best print designer by his contemporaries. He was more popular than Hiroshige, Hokusai or Kuniyoshi. And Kunisada was extremely productive. His total output is estimated at more than 20,000 designs, many made by his students. Kunisada was born near Edo (today Tokyo) as the son of an affluent merchant with a ferry boat license. At the age of fifteen he joined the famous art school of Utagawa Toyokuni and took the name Kunisada. In 1807 the young artist produced his first illustrated book. And in 1808 his first actor prints were published. His fame grew fast. While other artists like Kuniyoshi Utagawa or Hiroshige had to fight for recognition for years, he was successful from the beginning. He should become the most commercially successful of all woodblock printmakers ever. His early success may not have had a good influence on his personality. He had a reputation for his conceited personality. Kunisada designed a wide spectrum of traditional ukiyo-e subjects like kabuki themes, beautiful women, historical events and quite a few shunga...

Scribe and Personal Assistant to the Shogun - Japanese Woodblock Print on Paper Detailed woodblock print by an unknown artist, In the style of Suzuki Harunobu. There are two women i...

Set of 12 woodblock prints in colors on handmade, laid mulberry paper, 6 3/4 x 10 1/4 inches (170 x 258 mm), printed in Ka-ei 4 (1851). Each print with minor handling wear, otherwise in excellent condition with bright and fresh color, and with details printed in silver ink. The images themselves contain several illusive characters indicating the publisher which are obfuscated by figures, as intended. Presented loose, as issued. A fine set. The astrological commentary print has a large and meandering blind stamp with a bird and palm frond motif. This print lists various phrases concerning the Twelve Zodiac Animals as historically counted in Japan, and appears to include erotic commentary on the traits of people born under each of the twelve signs. These Shunga images were issued in books that paralleled (in an erotic fashion...

Woodcut on cream laid paper, 7 1/4 x 2 1/2 inches (182 x 63 mm), narrow margins. Laid down to non-archival board with scattered soiling and some adhesive staining. Okumura Masanobu (Japanese 1686 – 13 March 1764) was a Japanese print designer, book publisher, and painter. He also illustrated novelettes and in his early years wrote some fiction. At first his work adhered to the Torii school, but later drifted beyond that. He is a figure in the formative era of ukiyo-e doing early works on actors and bijin-ga ("pictures of beautiful women"). While Masanobu's early life is largely undocumented, he is believed to have been born about 1686, possibly in Edo (modern Tokyo). Edo was a small fishing village when Tokugawa Ieyasu chose it as his administrative capital of the Tokugawa shogunate, and by the early 17th century the city had prospered and its population had grown to half a million. Masanobu appears to have been self-taught painter (though he did study poetry under Tachiba Fukaku); he is not known to have belonged to any artistic school. His early work shows the influence of the Torii school of ukiyo-e painting...

A scene from a series of ghost stories and spooky rural legends. Tokyo: Matsuki Heikichi, 1896. Woodcut in ink with embossing and hand-coloring in watercolor on handmade mulberry pa...

Actor Iwai Shigaku as Somenoi in "Denka chaya adauchi" (Revenge at the Denka Teahouse), by Shigeharu, Ryusai (also called Kuniyoshi) Tokyo: Horie Ichiba Wataki, 1835. Woodcut on la...

This print is from a highly regarded series by the Edo woodblock artist Utagawa Kuniyoshi: in the period, there were at times prohibitions in depicting a...

Shichirigahama, Sagami Province. A beauty in the foreground waves to her young companions, who run towards her on the beach. The beauty at left wears a western-style golden ring. We ...