Chikanobu (1838 - 1912 )

Chikanobu Toyohara (also known as Chikanobu Yoshu) was a leading woodblock print artist of the Meiji Period. Born in Niigata prefecture as Naoyoshi Hashimoto, Chikanobu began his life as the son of samurai in the service of the Sakakibara clan. During the Meiji Restoration, he joined the shogitai, an elite samurai brigade in direct support of the waning Tokugawa Shogunate and fought bravely in the Battle of Ueno in 1868. Though captured in the fray, he was released unharmed. As the Shogunate fell, Chikanobu focused on a career in art.

Though trained in Kano school painting from an early age, Chikanobu shifted his attention to ukiyo-e around 1852. Chikanobu began his woodblock printmaking career under the tutelage of Utagawa School masters Kuniyoshi, Kunisada and Kunichika. Like many of his contemporaries, Chikanobu Toyohara worked as a newspaper illustrator as well as a print artist. By 1871, he had established himself as a leading print artist. He designed across all genres, from kabuki actors and beauties to military exploits of past and present. During the 1870s, Chikanobu captured Meiji Japan’s rapid modernization through kaika-e, or “enlightenment pictures.” Attuned to current events and public taste, he produced designs of both the 1877 Satsuma Rebellion, an ill-fated insurrection against the Meiji government, and well as the 1882 Imo Incident in Korea. Chikanobu’s reflected his changing world not only through his subject matter, but also in his materials. Incorporating the purples and reds of imported aniline dyes, he achieved an element of subtlety and sophistication rarely seen in his era. By the 1880s, a wave of national nostalgia for a Japan past prompted designs exploring traditional Japanese culture, values, and heroes. Through explorations of female beauty, Chikanobu Toyohara personified moments in Japanese history through fashion, manners and customs. In 1912, he died of stomach cancer.

Meiji Period Prints (1868-1912)

Meiji-period woodblock prints reflect an era of change. In 1853, the arrival of Commodore Perry’s black ships brought over 250 years of Japanese isolation to an abrupt end. The following year, as Japan engaged in international trade, Yokohama-e (Yokohama pictures) captured an influx of unfamiliar peoples, places and things entering Japan through Yokohama harbor. By 1868, the Imperial line attained control of the country under Emperor Meiji, terminating the feudal rule of the Tokugawa Shogunate and dissipating the culture of the floating world. Under the emperor, national modernization progressed rapidly. From Western-style clothes and pastimes, to exciting new inventions from overseas, Japan absorbed the massive influx of the foreign and developed a distinctly Japanese modern identity. While photography and lithography gained popularity at this time, the woodblock print continued to serve as a powerful medium. Meiji period artists made sense of a transitioning world with a familiar medium.

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Price

190090

Artist

  • Bairei
  • Beisaku
  • Biho
  • Chikanobu
  • Chikuseki
  • Eizan
  • Gakutei
  • Gekko
  • Ginko
  • Hiroshige
  • Hiroshige II
  • Hiroshige III
  • Hoitsu
  • Hokkei
  • Hokusai
  • Ikeda, Terukata
  • Ikuhide
  • Keinen
  • Kiyochika
  • Kogyo
  • Koson
  • Koun
  • Kunichika
  • Kunisada
  • Kunisada III
  • Kuniteru
  • Kunitoshi
  • Kuniyoshi
  • Kyosai
  • Miyagawa, Shuntei
  • Nobukazu
  • Rinsai
  • Sadahide
  • Sadanobu
  • Saigetsu
  • Seiko
  • Shimizu, Seifu
  • Shinsai
  • Sugakudo
  • Suzuki, Kinsen
  • Tadakiyo
  • Toshiaki
  • Toshihide
  • Toshikage
  • Toshikata
  • Toshimasa
  • Toshimine
  • Toyohiro
  • Yasuda, Shodo
  • Yoshifuji
  • Yoshiiku
  • Yoshikage II
  • Yoshimitsu
  • Yoshimori
  • Yoshitora
  • Yoshitoshi
  • Yoshitsuya II
  • Zeshin
  • Hasegawa, Kannosuke (Chikuyo)
  • Kaburagi, Kiyokata
  • Kajita, Hanko
  • Kokunimasa (aka Kunimasa V)
  • Mori, Shunkei
  • Watanabe, Seitei
  • Yukawa, Shodo
  • Mishima, Shoso
  • Suzuki, Kason
  • Takeuchi, Keishu
  • Fujikawa, Tamenobu
  • Tanigami, Konan
  • Terasaki, Kogyo
  • Tomioka, Eisen
  • Unsigned / Unknown Artist
  • Yamanaka, Kodo
  • Yushin, Ayaoka

Series

  • 24 Paragons of Filial Piety
  • Women's Activities of the Tokugawa Era

Subject

  • Actors & Theater
  • Animals & Fish
  • Architectural
  • Autumn
  • Beauties (bijin-ga)
  • Birds
  • Cats & Dogs
  • Children
  • Flowers & Gardens
  • Landscapes
  • Legends & History
  • Moon & Night
  • Music & Dance
  • Pastimes
  • Poets & Scholars
  • Portraits
  • Rain
  • Rituals & Beliefs
  • Spring
  • Summer
  • Warriors & Samurai
  • Waterfalls and Rapids
  • Waterscapes
  • Winter

Period

  • 1868 - 1912 (Meiji)

Medium

  • Woodblock Print

Size

  • Medium (ie. Oban)
  • Large (ie. Triptych)
  • Extra Large

103 Products

Filtered By: Chikanobu
Ro Rai (Lao Laizi)

Chikanobu

Ro Rai (Lao Laizi)

JPR-111310

$560.00
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To Fujin (Tang Furen)

Chikanobu

To Fujin (Tang Furen)

JPR-111308

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Bin Shiken (Min Ziqian)

Chikanobu

Bin Shiken (Min Ziqian)

JPR-111302

$420.00
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Soshin (Zeng Can)

Chikanobu

Soshin (Zeng Can)

JPR-111298

$380.00
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Three Brothers Denshin, Denko and Denkei (Tian Zhen, Tian Guang and Tian Qing)

Chikanobu

Three Brothers Denshin, Denko and Denkei (Tian Zhen, Tian Guang and Tian Qing)

JPR-111288

$440.00
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Yu Kinro (Yu Qianlou)

Chikanobu

Yu Kinro (Yu Qianlou)

JPR-111286

$440.00
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Rikuseki (Lu Ji)

Chikanobu

Rikuseki (Lu Ji)

JPR-111284

$420.00
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Kaku Kyo (Guo Ju)

Chikanobu

Kaku Kyo (Guo Ju)

JPR-111282

$440.00
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Ko Sankoku (Huang Tingjian)

Chikanobu

Ko Sankoku (Huang Tingjian)

JPR-111274

$490.00
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Beauty of the Tenna Era

Chikanobu

Beauty of the Tenna Era

JP110146

$600.00
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Two Brothers Choko and Chorei (Zhang Xiao and Zhang Li)

Chikanobu

Two Brothers Choko and Chorei (Zhang Xiao and Zhang Li)

JPR-111290

$480.00
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Cooling Off: Bijin with Fan

Chikanobu

Cooling Off: Bijin with Fan

JPR-97108

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Shun (Taishun)

Chikanobu

Shun (Taishun)

JPR-111296

$380.00
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Ou Hou (Wang Bao)

Chikanobu

Ou Hou (Wang Bao)

JPR-111294

$640.00
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Uguisu (Japanese Bush Warbler)

Chikanobu

Uguisu (Japanese Bush Warbler)

JPR-97121

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Sugoroku Backgammon

Chikanobu

Sugoroku Backgammon

JPR-97133

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Poetry

Chikanobu

Poetry

JPR-97243

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Cherry Blossoms at Night in Spring

Chikanobu

Cherry Blossoms at Night in Spring

JPR-97181

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Visiting the Golden Pavilion

Chikanobu

Visiting the Golden Pavilion

JPR-97143

$545.00
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Choosing a Scroll Painting

Chikanobu

Choosing a Scroll Painting

JPR-97298

$545.00
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Kabuki Play: Onoe Kikugoro as Bonji no Kiyojiro and Iwai Matsunosuke as Omaki

Chikanobu

Kabuki Play: Onoe Kikugoro as Bonji no Kiyojiro and Iwai Matsunosuke as Omaki

JP1-51161

$780.00
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Beautiful Woman in the Koka Era

Chikanobu

Beautiful Woman in the Koka Era

JPR3-45062

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Tea Ceremony and Game of Go

Chikanobu

Tea Ceremony and Game of Go

JPR-97290

$720.00
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View of Shinobazu from Ueno

Chikanobu

View of Shinobazu from Ueno

JPR-97152

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