Toyokuni III (AKA Kunisada,1786 - 1864 )
Toyokuni III, also known as Kunisada, was born in the Honjo district of Edo as Kunisada Tsunoda. Kunisada’s family owned a small hereditary ferryboat service. Though his father, an amateur poet, died when Kunisada was a child, the family business provided some financial security. During his childhood, he showed considerable promise in painting and drawing. Due to strong familial ties with literary and theatrical circles, he spent time studying actor portraits.
At age 14, he was admitted to study under Toyokuni, head of the Utagawa school. Kunisada’s ukiyo-e woodblock prints embody the characteristics of the Utagawa school, focusing on traditional subjects such as kabuki, bijin (beautiful women), shunga (erotic prints), and historical prints. Kunisada's first known woodblock print dates to 1807, his first illustrated book to 1808. His career took off from the beginning. Many of his works became overnight successes and he was considered the “star attraction” of the Utagawa school. He signed his works “Kunisada,” sometimes with the studio names of Gototei and Kochoro affixed. In 1844, he adopted the name of his teacher and became Toyokuni III. Kunisada passed away in 1864 in the same neighborhood that he was born. He was 70 years old. Kunisada was a highly popular, and the most active, Japanese ukiyo-e artist of the 19th century. In his time, his reputation surpassed those of his contemporaries Hiroshige and Kuniyoshi.
226 Products
Toyokuni III
Prince Hikaru Looking in from the Veranda
JPR1-51479
Toyokuni III
Kabuki Actor Kawarazaki Gonjuro I as Jiraiya
JPR-209717
Toyokuni III
Kabuki Actor Ichimura Kakitsu IV as Tenjiku Tokubei
JPR-209716
Toyokuni III
Kabuki Actor Segawa Kikunojo III as the Spirit of the Cherry Tree : Poem by Fujiwara no Motozane
JPR1-70986
Toyokuni III
Onoe Kikugoro III as the Ghost of Yasukata: Poem by Nakatsukasa
JP2763
Toyokuni III
Ichikawa Danjuro VIII as Endo Musha: Poem by Fujiwara no Nakafumi
JP5492
Toyokuni III
Fireworks over Ryogoku Bridge in the Eastern Capital: Illustration of the Prosperity of the River Opening
JPR-209061
Toyokuni III
Plum Garden at Omurai: The Seven Plants of Autumn
JPR-209058
Toyokuni III
Flowers and Birds: Genji and His Companions
JPR-209056
Toyokuni III
Mishima: Kabuki Actor Segawa Kikunojo V as Osen
JPR-209082
Toyokuni III
Mitsuuji Amusing Himself at a Hot Springs Resort
JPR-209065