Japanese Woodblock Print, originally published 1878 as a part of the series "Mirror of the Flowering of Manners and Customs", this print is a Showa era strike from recarved woodblocks

SIZE IN INCHES: 11.25 c 16.25 inches

COMMENTS: This print is particularly interesting because it shows what would have been (in 1878) a relatively new invention, the box camera, being used to take the portrait of a young woman.

TOYOHARA KUNICHIKA (1835-1900) is said to, by one report, have changed residences over 110 times while changing wives 40 times. He once boasted, “Although I can't equal Hokusai in art, I beat him in the number of times I've moved.” He spent money as in the saying, “A true Tokyoite doesn't save a penny even for one night” and although he was a heavy drinker, he possessed fine manners. Indeed, Kunichika’s life is full of colorful anecdotes. Kunichika was known as one of “The Three Greats of Meiji Ukiyo-e”, along with Yoshitoshi and Kiyochika, and received praise as the “Meiji Sharaku”, a reference to the Edo period Ukiyo-e artist, Sharaku.

At around the age of eleven Kunichika first studied under the artist Toyohara Chikanobu. In 1848 he became an apprentice to the artist Kunisada. His first prints as an apprentice were published in the early 1850s. The name Kunichika is a combination of the artist names of his two teachers. Kunichika’s rise to prominence can be seen in his high ratings from the saikenki (a popular guide that rated ukiyo-e artists), in which he was rated #8 in 1865, #5 in 1867 and #4 in 1885.

In 1869 Kunichika began publishing his series of large portraits of kabuki actors. Kunichika literally filled the composition with the actor's face, so it is more appropriate to refer to his pictures as ogao-e, “Large Face Pictures”. His colorful backgrounds were made from imported chemical dyes such as dark blue, red and purple. In the next three years, Kunichika made large diptych and triptych half-body series of portraits of actors.

As a print designer creating yakusha-e (actor prints), Kunichika was a regular visitor backstage at the Kabuki theater. He made sketches of actors before and during performances and at rehearsals. He was described by one of his subjects, the actor Matsusuke IV, as assuming "the 'mien' of a great artist," silent and intense. He had an intimate knowledge of every aspect of the theater, being well acquainted with plays, playwrights, actors and their performance styles.

The press affirmed Kunichika’s success into the Meiji era. In July 1874, the magazine Shinbun hentai said that: “Color woodcuts are one of the specialties of Tokyo, and Kyosai, Yoshitoshi and Kunichika are the experts in this area.” In September 1874 the same journal held that: “The masters of Ukiyoe Kunichika and Yoshitoshi are the most popular Ukiyo-e artists.” In 1890, the book Tôkyô meishô doku annai (Famous Views of Tokyo), under the heading of “woodblock artist”, gave as examples Kunichika, Kunisada, Yoshiiku, and Yoshitoshi. In November 1890 a reporter for the newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun wrote about the specializations of artists of the Utagawa School: "Yoshitoshi was the specialist for warrior prints, Kunichika the woodblock artist known for portraits of actors, and Chikanobu for court ladies."

Kunichika died at his home in Honjo (an eastern suburb of Edo) on July 1, 1900 at the age of 65, due to a combination of poor health and bouts of heavy drinking brought on by the death of his daughter Hana during childbirth in February, 1899. He was buried at the Shingon Buddhist sect temple of Honryuji in Imado, Asakusa. His grave marker is thought to have been destroyed in a 1923 earthquake, but family members erected a new one in 1974.

Fine, no flaws