Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III)

Woman Drinking Tea - Mid 19th Century Figurative Japanese Woodblock Print

1850's

Japanese Artisans - Japanese Woodblock Print J Japanese woodblock depicting six women, all wearing vibrant kimonos, working on crafts by Tosa Mitsuoki (Japanese, 1617-1691). Japanese,c. 1600. Handcraft depiction (dye works).Section from a painted screen with presentations of handcraft.Kita-in, Saitama. Stamped lower left. Presented in a white mat and giltwood frame. Frame: 19"H x 14"W Mat: 18.25"H x 13.25"W Image: 14.5"H x 9.5"W Tosa Mitsuoki was a Japanese painter, reinvigorating the Yamato style of classical Japanese painting. Yamato-e originated from interest in reproducing early Tang dynasty paintings, and was later reinvented and further refined to fit Japanese cultural perceptions in the late Heian period. Yamato, sometimes referred to as wa or kazu had become synonymous with the Tosa-ha by the Muromachi period as a way for Japanese artist to distinguish their works from those of mainland Chinese paintings, kara-e. Yamato-e incorporated various visual and literary techniques for establishing narrative. Works were not always accompanied with text and may rely on heavily on period specific visual motifs, icons, and symbols to relay a story or theme. Tosa style by the time of Mitsuoki focused heavily on depicting themes of plants and nature, famous places, meisho, the four seasons, shik, bird-and-flower, kacho. Many of these popular symbols and icons from mimicking Chinese practices, treating the original Chinese masterwork as a sort of prototype to improve upon. Popular formats for Mitsuoki's pictures were wall scrolls kakemono, or handscrolls that would be read from right to left with the accompanied story, sliding doors fusuma and folding screen panels byobu that featured up to six panels. Mitsuoki's style incorporated the depth and calligraphy techniques of ink wash brushwork similar to Song dynasty and Yuan dynasty Chinese court paintings...

3 Panel Hand Colored Japanese Woodcut Print Lithograph Three panel hand colored woodcut lithograph from Nanso Satomi hakkenden, Tale of the Eight Dogs...

"Various Himochi" Wagashi Festival Japanese Woodblock Print by Utagawa Toyokuni Rare oversized early 19th century 5-tiered woodblock by Utagawa Ichiyosai Toyokuni, (Japan, 1769-1825), a Japanese lord and wife oversee a sekku festival of food, music, and dolls or toys. '"oshi" is the first day of “Mi (Snake)” in the third month of the lunar calendar. This day, known in modern Japan as the Girls' Festival, originated in China as a form of purification ceremony in which water and drinking peach blossom wine were used to drive away evil. Many kinds of hishi-mochi appear in this picture of hina ningyo (dolls associated with Hinamatsuri, or the Girl’s Day) from Omochae. The custom of eating special dishes at events throughout the year and at milestones in people's lives has existed since ancient times. This paragraph specifically focuses on the annual event called sekku, and life events that involve eating sweets. Joshi is the first day of “Mi (Snake)” in the third month of the lunar calendar. This day, known in modern Japan as the Girls' Festival, originated in China as a form of purification ceremony in which water and drinking peach blossom wine were used to drive away evil. According to the Keiso saijiki, in ancient China, on the third day of the third lunar month, people ate “ryuzetsuhan,” which is the juice of gogyo (Jersey cudweed) mixed with rice flour and nectar. In Japan, there is a record in the Heian period history book Nihon Montoku tenno jitsuroku [839-5] that it was an annual event to make kusamochi using gogyo on the third day of the third month of the lunar calendar, which may have been influenced by Chinese customs. The tradition of eating kusamochi on the third day of the third month of the lunar calendar continued after that. By the Edo period, however, hishimochi had come to be used as a sweet to serve on the third day of the third month. A picture of a hishimochi is included in the Morisada manko , which we mentioned in Part 1. According to it, hishimochi in the Edo period were often three layers of green-white-green instead of the now common red-white-green. However, it is possible to see from our collection that not all hishimochi were made in this way. Omochae published in 1857, is a good example. Omochae is a type of ukiyoe print...

Japanese Parade - Woodblock Print Japanese woodblock print by Utagawa Kuniyasu (歌川 国安) (Japan, 1794–1832). Japanese women, dressed in blue and red kimonos, are the focal point. A vi...

A mischievous tableau with sexual overtones. Tokyo: Shuei-Sha, 1768. Woodblock print in colors printed on laid mulberry paper, 10 3/4 x 7 7/8 inches (273 x 200 mm), full margins. I...

An image that originally appeared in an astrological calendar for the year 1766. Tokyo: Shuei-Sha, 1766. Woodblock print in colors printed on laid mulberry paper, 10 3/4 x 7 7/8 in...

circa 1950. Woodblock print in black and gray ink on Japon laid paper, 10 1/4 x 15 3/4 inches (260 x 398 mm), full margins. With the artist's embossed chop mark in red ink in the l...

Two minor villains from "Medley of Tales of Revenge" square off, as performed at the Kiri theatre, Tokyo, in May of 1794. Toyko: Tsutaya Juzaburo, 1794. Woodblock (nishiki-e) with ...