Toyohara Kunichika (1835-1900) - Japanese Woodblock Song of the Samurai 91

Description

A vibrant Japanese woodblock print depicting a bijinga playing a musical instrument before a scene from the Satsuma Rebellion. Signed and inscribed in characters. On paper.

Condition

The condition is typical for a picture of this age including some discolouration. There is light creasing to the paper that the print is mounted on.

Size

34.7 x 23.4cm (13.7" x 9.2")
Sheet: 39 x 25.1cm (15.4" x 9.9")

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Artist Biography

Toyohara Kunichika was a Japanese woodblock print artist. Talented as a child, at about thirteen he became a student of Tokyo's then-leading print maker, Utagawa Kunisada. His deep appreciation and knowledge of kabuki drama led to his production primarily of ukiyo-e actor-prints, which are woodblock prints of kabuki actors and scenes from popular plays of the time.

Kunichika often portrayed women deemed beautiful (bijinga), contemporary social life, and a few landscapes and historical scenes. He worked successfully in the Edo period, and carried those traditions into the Meiji period. To his contemporaries and now to some modern art historians, this has been seen as a significant achievement during a transitional period of great social and political change in Japan's history.