Unsigned / Unknown Artist (1600 - Present)

There are some works that arrive in our collection by unknown artists, while there are others that may lack a signature, but can be attributed to a known artist after careful research. Certain genres, such as Meiji-period photography and shunga (erotic prints) frequently fall into this second category. It is difficult to identify early photographers because photography studios did not include credits in souvenir albums, many of which featured numerous photographers. In addition, photographers often bought the negatives of others and reproduced them as a part of their own portfolio. When attempting to make attributions, photographs with no credits are compared to the few that have attributions. Turning to shunga, nearly all ukiyo-e artists produced erotic prints, yet these prints are often unsigned to avoid trouble with the law. For these works, attributions are generally made based on stylistic analysis.

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

480040

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

Subject

  • Animals & Fish
  • Beauties (bijin-ga)
  • Children
  • Comic
  • Flowers & Gardens
  • Moon & Night
  • Music & Dance
  • Nature
  • Pastimes
  • Portraits
  • Rituals & Beliefs
  • Summer
  • Sumo
  • Surimono
  • Waterscapes
  • Winter

Period

  • 1600 - 1800 (Early Edo)
  • 1800 - 1868 (Edo)
  • 1868 - 1912 (Meiji)

Medium

  • Painting
  • Woodblock Print

Size

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

13 Products

Koto

Unsigned / Unknown Artist

Koto

JPR-211280

$500.00
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Two Beauties with a Lantern

Unsigned / Unknown Artist

Two Beauties with a Lantern

JPR-210813

$990.00
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Beauty with a Tray

Unsigned / Unknown Artist

Beauty with a Tray

JPR-210811

$990.00
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Seated Beauty: Egoyomi for 1799

Unsigned / Unknown Artist

Seated Beauty: Egoyomi for 1799

JPR-210809

$990.00
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Moon Viewing Fun

Unsigned / Unknown Artist

Moon Viewing Fun

JPR-210708

SOLD

Fuchu

Unsigned / Unknown Artist

Fuchu

JP-110452

SOLD

Sumo Wrestler Koyanagi Chokichi

Unsigned / Unknown Artist

Sumo Wrestler Koyanagi Chokichi

JPR-77566

$2,800.00
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Courtesan of the House of Daikokuya

Unsigned / Unknown Artist

Courtesan of the House of Daikokuya

JPR-208630

SOLD

Dutch Ship Entering Nagasaki Bay

Unsigned / Unknown Artist

Dutch Ship Entering Nagasaki Bay

JP-111388

$4,800.00
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Fudo Myoo with Seitaka and Kongara

Unsigned / Unknown Artist

Fudo Myoo with Seitaka and Kongara

JP1-63399

$3,200.00
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Zenzaidoji, Sudhanakumara

Unsigned / Unknown Artist

Zenzaidoji, Sudhanakumara

JPR1-63349

$2,400.00
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Kite Flying

Unsigned / Unknown Artist

Kite Flying

JPR5864

$680.00
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Chrysanthemums: Poem by Seiryutei Shuei

Unsigned / Unknown Artist

Chrysanthemums: Poem by Seiryutei Shuei

JPR5015

$4,500.00
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