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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  • 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
The Battle of Yashima

Kuniyoshi

The Battle of Yashima

JPR-209041

SOLD

The Night Attack at Horikawa

Kuniyoshi

The Night Attack at Horikawa

JPR-209040

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Teraoka Heiemon Nobuyuki

Kuniyoshi

Teraoka Heiemon Nobuyuki

JPR-208661

SOLD

Ushioda Masanojo Takanori

Kuniyoshi

Ushioda Masanojo Takanori

JPR-208649

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Yazama Kihei Mitsunobu

Kuniyoshi

Yazama Kihei Mitsunobu

JPR-91409

$680.00
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Okano Ginemon Kanehide

Kuniyoshi

Okano Ginemon Kanehide

JPR-91377

$780.00
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Poem by Sangi Takamura: Minamoto no Yoshitsune and Ama (Female Diver)

Kuniyoshi

Poem by Sangi Takamura: Minamoto no Yoshitsune and Ama (Female Diver)

JPR-88910

$350.00
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Oboshi Yuranosuke and Oboshi Rikiya

Kuniyoshi

Oboshi Yuranosuke and Oboshi Rikiya

JPR-88898

$380.00
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Hayashi Tanshiro Taketoshi

Kuniyoshi

Hayashi Tanshiro Taketoshi

JPR-87643

$2,200.00
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Iwanuma Kichirokuro Nobusato

Kuniyoshi

Iwanuma Kichirokuro Nobusato

JPR-208801

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The Former Emperor [Sutoku] Sends His Retainers to Rescue Tametomo

Kuniyoshi

The Former Emperor [Sutoku] Sends His Retainers to Rescue Tametomo

JPR-208795

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Motoyama: Yamauba

Kuniyoshi

Motoyama: Yamauba

JP-208465

$1,800.00
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Jellyfish from Bizen

Kuniyoshi

Jellyfish from Bizen

JPR-109504

$980.00
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Kabuki Actor Ichikawa Danjuro VIII as Jiraiya with a Monster Toad

Kuniyoshi

Kabuki Actor Ichikawa Danjuro VIII as Jiraiya with a Monster Toad

JPR-208831

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Kabuki Actor Bando Shuka as Okaru

Kuniyoshi

Kabuki Actor Bando Shuka as Okaru

JPR-208564

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Actor Ichikawa Danjuro VIII as Teraoka Heiemon

Kuniyoshi

Actor Ichikawa Danjuro VIII as Teraoka Heiemon

JPR-208548

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Kabuki Actor Bando Shucho

Kuniyoshi

Kabuki Actor Bando Shucho

JPR-109506

$720.00
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Shioren Sajimanokami Masataka

Kuniyoshi

Shioren Sajimanokami Masataka

JPR-111828

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Goldfish, Killifish, Stingray and Puffer Fish

Kuniyoshi

Goldfish, Killifish, Stingray and Puffer Fish

JP-208690

SOLD

Octopus on a Rock

Kuniyoshi

Octopus on a Rock

JP-208689

SOLD

Saito Kuranoshin Toshikazu

Kuniyoshi

Saito Kuranoshin Toshikazu

JPR-111830

SOLD

Benkei Dragging Off the Great Bell of Miidera

Kuniyoshi

Benkei Dragging Off the Great Bell of Miidera

JP-207883

SOLD

The Earth Spider Conjures Goblins at the Mansion of Minamoto no Yorimitsu (Raiko)

Kuniyoshi

The Earth Spider Conjures Goblins at the Mansion of Minamoto no Yorimitsu (Raiko)

JP-88250

Price on request
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Tales of the Three Kingdoms: Gentoku

Kuniyoshi

Tales of the Three Kingdoms: Gentoku

JP1-73724

$16,000.00
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