Kyosai (1831 - 1889 )
Born the son of a samurai in 1831, Kyosai worked as a printmaker, illustrator and Kano painter during the Meiji period. He studied with Kuniyoshi as a child before seeking the tutelage of Maumura Towa. At age 19, Kyosai's newest teacher, Kano Tohaku, bestowed Kyosai with the name “Toiku” and admitted him to the Kano house. Kyosai spent eight years with the school before setting off on his own. He settled in Tokyo and worked as an independent painter, though he produced ehon (illustrated books) and single-sheet woodblock prints as well. Many of his prints feature ravens. Kyosai's work soon earned great acclaim worldwide: in 1873, he exhibited at the Vienna International Exposition, followed by the Paris International Exposition in 1883. Working mainly in the Kano style, Kyosai instills his work with persistent humor.
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.
12 Products
Kyosai
The Husband's Beloved Red Hat, Shaking Like the Ghost of the Potato Jelly
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Kyosai
Flower on a Withered Tree, Strolling Like a Dog on the River
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Kyosai
Oxen Prefer the Company of Oxen, Botange Shohaku, The Lovers of the Tanabata Festival, Sugawara Michizane and Kodomaru
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Kyosai
Even Pigeons Roost at Different Heights According to Seniority; Even Crows Show Filial Piety When the Young Feed Their Parents
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Kyosai
Flowers Sprouting from Dried Beans, Getting a Headache from Worrying about Your Neighbor's Digestion
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Kyosai
The Fruit of the Tree Is Known from Its Flowers, Fighting Like Dogs and Monkeys
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Kyosai
Hateful Things Are Feared by the World, A Crow Imitating a Cormorant
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Kyosai
A Day Late for the Festival: No Curse from the God You Don't Touch
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Kyosai
A Bell Hanging from a Lantern, Three People Together are as Wise as the Bodhisattva Monju
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