Kuniyasu (1794 - 1832 )
Kuniyasu was born in Edo and studied under Toyokuni. His artist name was Kuniyasu, though for a brief period around 1811 he used the name Yasunobu Nishikawa before resuming his old name. Kuniyasu's work concentrates on Kabuki actors (yakusha-e), privately commissioned works (surimono) and beautiful women (bijin-ga). Kuniyasu's prints can now be found in collections and exhibitions around the world, such as those of the Tokyo National Museum and the British Museum.
Japanese Woodblock Prints (1800 - 1868)
By the 19th century, Japanese woodblock prints achieved extraordinary popularity. While the shogunate issued a battery of censorship reforms throughout the 1800s, artists ignored and evaded restrictions with images of indulgent beauties and vibrant kabuki actors. As constraints tightened in the 1840s, bijin-ga (pictures of beautiful women) became earthier in prints by Eizan and Eisen, while kabuki actors persevered in the work of Kunisada (aka Toyokuni III). During this period, ukiyo-e artists also added landscapes, warriors, ghosts and scenes of everyday life to their oeuvre. Artists such as Hokusai and Hiroshige indulged a national wanderlust through Meisho-e or “famous place pictures,” while Kuniyoshi championed musha-e, a genre of warrior and legendary pictures.
3 Products
Kuniyasu
Oiran Hanagoromo from the House of Wakanaya
JPR1-45185