Utagawa Kuniyoshi

▪ Japanese artist

original name Igusa Magosaburō

born Jan. 1, 1798, Kanda, Edo [now Tokyo]

died April 14, 1861, Edo

      Japanese painter and printmaker of the ukiyo-e (“pictures of the floating world”) movement.

      Like his rival Utagawa Kunisada, Kuniyoshi was a pupil of Utagawa Toyokuni. He established his fame as the designer of musha-e (“warrior prints”) with his series of prints entitled “Tsūzoku Suikoden gōketsu hyakuhachinin” (“One Hundred and Eight Popular Warrior Heroes from Shui-hu ch'uan”), published in about 1827. He also produced landscapes, frequently using Western perspective. Among the most famous of these are the 10-print series “Tōto meisho” (“Famous Sights of Edo”) and the five-print series “Tōto Fujimi sanjūrokkei” (“Thirty-six Sites in Edo Overlooking Mount Fuji”).

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