Kuniyoshi (1797 - 1861 )

The son of silk dyer, Kuniyoshi Utagawa was born into the Igusa family in Edo. Little is known about his very early years, though he is said to have shown remarkable talent from a young age. Kuniyoshi began his ukiyo-e career as a pupil of Shunei. At age 14 he was accepted to study the art of woodblock printing under Toyokuni I and, in time, would become one of his most successful students. In 1814, he left Toyokuni’s studio to pursue a career as an independent ukiyo-e artist. Initially, he had little success, selling tatami mats in order to support himself. However, his fortunes changed in 1827 with his dramatic series 108 Heroes of the Suikoden. From that point forward, the public hungered for his portrayals of famous samurai and legendary heroes. Kuniyoshi Utagawa worked across all genres, producing some brilliant landscapes and charming bijin-ga (pictures of beautiful women). He died in the spring of 1861 from complications of a stroke.

In direct contrast to the peaceful views of a scenic Japan provided by Hiroshige and Hokusai, the following decades saw a rise of the fierce, fearsome and fantastical in ukiyo-e. Kuniyoshi welcomed this changing public taste. He had a ravenous imagination and the full scope of his work reveals an aesthetic sensibility capable of capturing almost any experience. No doubt, however, his particular genius felt most at home in the world of martial glory, where epic battles decided the fate of empires and fierce warriors clashed to the death. Kuniyoshi's Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock prints were so popular in his time that he received requests for tattoo designs.

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.

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Availability

  • Available
  • Archive

Price

650000100

Artist

  • Aikawa, Minwa (ask Gosentei)
  • Ashiyuki
  • Chikayoshi
  • Eisen
  • Eizan
  • Gakutei
  • Gekko
  • Hidematsu
  • Hidenari
  • Hirokage
  • Hirosada
  • Hiroshige
  • Hiroshige & Toyokuni III
  • Hiroshige II
  • Hokkei
  • Hokuba
  • Hokuga
  • Hokusai
  • Hokushu
  • Hokutai
  • Katsushika, Isai
  • Kiyomoto II
  • Kunichika
  • Kunihisa II
  • Kunimori II
  • Kuninao
  • Kunisada
  • Kunisada II (aka Kunimasa III, Toyokuni IV)
  • Kuniyasu
  • Kuniyoshi
  • Kyosai
  • Mimura, Seizan
  • Sadafusa
  • Sadahide
  • Sadanobu
  • Shigeharu
  • Shigenobu
  • Shinsai
  • Shunman
  • Shunsen
  • Sori III
  • Sugakudo
  • Tamikuni
  • Teisai, Shuri
  • Toshikata
  • Toyohiro
  • Toyokiyo
  • Toyokuni I
  • Toyokuni II (Toyoshige)
  • Toyokuni III
  • Tsukimaro
  • Utamaro
  • Utamaro II
  • Yoshiiku
  • Yoshikata
  • Yoshikazu
  • Yoshikuni
  • Yoshitora
  • Yoshitoshi
  • Yoshitsuna
  • Yoshitsuya
  • Yoshiume
  • Unsigned / Unknown Artist

Series

  • 100 Poems by 100 Poets (Kuniyoshi)
  • 108 Heroes of the Popular Suikoden
  • 53 Stations of the Tokaido (Kuniyoshi)
  • 69 Stations of the Kisokaido
  • Biographies of the Loyal Retainers
  • Famous and Heroic Leaders
  • Heroes of the Taiheiki (Kuniyoshi)
  • Ogura 100 Poems by 100 Poets
  • Ukiyo-e Parallels for the Tale of Genji

Subject

  • Actors & Theater
  • Animals & Fish
  • Architectural
  • Autumn
  • Beauties (bijin-ga)
  • Birds
  • Bridges
  • Calligraphy
  • Cats & Dogs
  • Children
  • Comic
  • Flowers & Gardens
  • Genji
  • Ghosts & Demons (yokai)
  • Landscapes
  • Legends & History
  • Moon & Night
  • Music & Dance
  • Pastimes
  • Poets & Scholars
  • Portraits
  • Rain
  • Rituals & Beliefs
  • Spring
  • Sumo
  • Surimono
  • Tattoo
  • Tokaido
  • Warriors & Samurai
  • Waterfalls and Rapids
  • Waterscapes
  • Winter

Period

  • 1800 - 1868 (Edo)
  • 1868 - 1912 (Meiji)

Medium

  • Painting
  • Woodblock Print

Size

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

336 Products

Filtered By: Kuniyoshi
Oboshi Rikiya Yoshikane

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Oboshi Rikiya Yoshikane

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Oboshi Yuranosuke Yoshio

Kuniyoshi

Oboshi Yuranosuke Yoshio

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Oribe Yahei Kanamaru

Kuniyoshi

Oribe Yahei Kanamaru

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Kataoka Dengoemon Takafusa

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Kataoka Dengoemon Takafusa

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Hayami Sozaemon Mitsutaka

Kuniyoshi

Hayami Sozaemon Mitsutaka

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Miura Jiroemon Kanetsune

Kuniyoshi

Miura Jiroemon Kanetsune

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Kaida Yadaemon Tomonobu

Kuniyoshi

Kaida Yadaemon Tomonobu

JPR-208651

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Okashima Yasoemon Tsunetatsu

Kuniyoshi

Okashima Yasoemon Tsunetatsu

JPR-208137

$1,200.00
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Kiura Okaemon Sadayuki

Kuniyoshi

Kiura Okaemon Sadayuki

JPR-91388

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Loyal Retainers, Their Task Accomplished, Retire to Takanawa

Kuniyoshi

Loyal Retainers, Their Task Accomplished, Retire to Takanawa

JPR-109792

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Beauty Reading a Letter

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Beauty Reading a Letter

JP-209369

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Minamoto Ushiwakamaru and Musashibo Benkei

Kuniyoshi

Minamoto Ushiwakamaru and Musashibo Benkei

JPR-209050

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Okano Ginemon Kanehide

Kuniyoshi

Okano Ginemon Kanehide

JPR-208663

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Yata Goroemon Suketake

Kuniyoshi

Yata Goroemon Suketake

JPR-208656

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Tokuda Magodayu Shigemori

Kuniyoshi

Tokuda Magodayu Shigemori

JPR-208650

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Kabuki Actor Nakamura Utaemon IV as a Lion from the Play Grasses of Valor

Kuniyoshi

Kabuki Actor Nakamura Utaemon IV as a Lion from the Play Grasses of Valor

JPR-209080

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Comical Panoramic View of Yoritomo’s Hunting Party under Mt. Fuji

Kuniyoshi

Comical Panoramic View of Yoritomo’s Hunting Party under Mt. Fuji

JPR-209064

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Rooster: Sasaki Saburo Moritsuna

Kuniyoshi

Rooster: Sasaki Saburo Moritsuna

JPR-209052

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Ox: Yamamoto Kansuke Nyudo Doki

Kuniyoshi

Ox: Yamamoto Kansuke Nyudo Doki

JPR-209051

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Zhang Fei (Chohi)

Kuniyoshi

Zhang Fei (Chohi)

JPR-209049

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Monkey: Onzoshi Ushiwakamaru (Minamoto no Yoshitsune)

Kuniyoshi

Monkey: Onzoshi Ushiwakamaru (Minamoto no Yoshitsune)

JPR-209048

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Yoshitsune Recovering His Bow from the Sea at the Battle of Yashima

Kuniyoshi

Yoshitsune Recovering His Bow from the Sea at the Battle of Yashima

JPR-209046

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Prince Shotoku Kills Mononobe no Moriya

Kuniyoshi

Prince Shotoku Kills Mononobe no Moriya

JPR-209043

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The Battle of Dan-no-ura

Kuniyoshi

The Battle of Dan-no-ura

JPR-209042

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