Kunisada was born in the 1786 in the Honjo district of Edo. His father died, the year of Kunisada’s birth. With the travel of the family from one province to another (mainly due to the early demise of the father), we know nothing about his sisters, brothers, nor family members as a whole. We do know that Kunisada lived during the Kansei era (1789-1801). This era produced some of the best Ukiyo-e artists, like Utamaro or Kunisada’s future teacher and founder of the Utagawa School Toyokuni I.

By the age of nineteen, he was under the tutelage of Toyokuni, gaining recognition for his talent in reproduction of pictures. Soon, Kunisada gained reputation as a popular actors-picture artist. Kunisada’s bijin-ga (beautiful lady prints) catapulted his fame as one of the most influential artist of the time. His approach to the realism of the beauty of women in everyday life deviated from the popular form of Utamaro. Kunisada incorporated the landscape as well as the beauty of the female into his prints.

In Utamaro’s work, backgrounds are mainly non-existent with sole emphasis on the idealized feminine beauty. Kunisada’s artistic realism consistently adorned his future works. It is often said that when people said, “Ukiyo-e”, no breath was wasted before their next word, “Kunisada” In 1844, Kunisada changed his name to Toyokuni III. He did this in recognition of his deceased teacher (Toyokuni I), which ignored the prior claim of Toyokuni I’s adopted son Gosotei Toyokuni.

Kuniyoshi

Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1798 -1861) was one of the most notable artist of the Edo period. Although Kunisada was the head of the Toyokuni school, Kuniyoshi was by far the better artist. He did some good landscapes, many of which rival Hiroshige. He was by far more recognized for producing some of the most famous and impressive warrior prints and kubuki scenes.

Many of Kuniyoshi's pupils began their names with the prefix "Yoshi" to recognize the teachings of their master. Examples of famous students of Kuniyoshi include Yoshitora, Yoshikuni and Yoshikazu.

Back to top

 

.....Featuring Japanese Woodblock Prints....Hanko..... Ginko....Chikanobu.....Gekko.....Hiroshige.....Hiroshige II.....Hokusai.....Kunichika.....Kunisada.....Kuniteru.....Kokunimasa.....Toshikata.....Toshihide.....Utugawa School.....Yoshitora.....Yoshitoshi