From the collection ... featuring woodblock ukiyo-e Meiji prints by Toyohara Kunichika (1835-1900)

From the collection ... featuring
Toyohara Kunichika (1835–1900)

“From the collection” is a special feature of this channel highlighting specific artworks from the collection of “Paul de Guzman presents ... Art”. Prior to my engagement as a Cultural Consultant, Visual Artist and Content Maker, my research into art involved collecting and studying works from various artists. Included in that collection are woodblock prints from a number of ukiyo-e artists including the now legendary Toyohara Kunichika (1835–1900).

“Toyohara Kunichika was one the most important woodblock print artists of the Meiji period (1868-1912). Best known for his dramatic actor portraits (yakusha-e.), Kunichika ushered ukiyo-e into a new era of colour printmaking. At his hand, the floating world came to life in rich purples and deep reds. Even as new artistic mediums became popular in Japan, Kunichika championed the genres and aesthetics of ukiyo-e in vivid colour.

Born as Yasohachi Oshima in 1835, Kunichika's father was a public bathhouse proprietor in Kyobashi district, home to many artists and merchants. He assumed his mother's family name, Arakawa, during his youth. Kunichika began his artistic training around the age of 12 under Ichiosai Chikanobu. Roughly two years later, Kunichika apprenticed under Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865) and began to produce actor prints in the 1850s. Though he worked in the style of the Utagawa school, he never used the Utagawa name. Kunichika took his artist name from names of his two teachers. After more than a decade in Kunisada's studio, Kunichika's popularity rose as he stepped out as an independent artist in the 1860s and 1870s.

Though Kunichika produced some “bijin-ga” (pictures of beautiful women), historical prints, and journalistic illustrations, his passion lay with the kabuki theatre. From sprawling triptychs to “okubi-e” (large-head portraits) rich in emotion, Kunichika established himself as the leading artist of “yakusha-e” (actor prints). He immersed himself in the kabuki world, regularly spending time backstage, sketching the actors, socializing with the theatrical figures, and watching the plays. This wealth of personal experience in the theatre lent an intimacy to his bold designs.” [1]

[1] The Ronin Gallery, New York, USA ... https://www.roningallery.com/artists/...

A more extensive monograph on the artist was published by Hotei Publishing, Leiden in 1999 titled “Time present and time past - Images of a Forgotten Master: Toyohara Kunichika (1835–1900)” by Amy Reigle Newland with an essay by Shigeru Oikawa