Hashimoto Chikanobu

Asakusa evening bell

Hashimoto Chikanobu ( Japanese 橋本 周延 , also known as Yōshū Chikanobu (揚州 周延), real name: Hashimoto Naoyoshi (橋本 直 義); born September 26, 1838 in Takada ( Echigo Province ); died September 29, 1912 ) was a Japanese Woodcut artist during the Meiji period .

life and work

Chikanobu was born in the province of Echigo as the son of a Gokenin (御 家人), i.e. a low samurai . First he studied painting under Utagawa Kuniyoshi , then under Toyokuni III. (三代 豊 国) and made pictures under the name Yoshitsuru II. (二代 芳 鶴). Eventually he studied under Toyohara Kunichika and changed his stage name to Chikanobu.

Chikanobu became known for “Really Beautiful Women” (真 美人; Shin-bijin), “Mirror of the Present” (時代 か が み, Jidai kagami) and other series of beautiful women. Due to his samurai descent, he was admitted to the Edo Castle and produced series during the Edo period, such as "Chiyodas Ōoku" (千代 田 の 大 奥, Chiyoda no Ōoku), "Flowers of the true, old east" (温故 東 之 花, Onko-azuma no hana). - “Mirror of the nobility of Japan” (扶桑 貴 観, Fusō kikan), which depicts the Japanese imperial couple with crown prince, is one of his most famous triptychs. The emperor wears a black officer's dress uniform in the western style, which is decorated with the chrysanthemum order, the Empress Shōken (昭憲皇 后; 1850–1940) is portrayed as attractive as the emperor. In the middle sits Crown Prince Taishō , dressed in a school uniform.

The preoccupation with western music was one of Chikanobu's other topics. The carefully executed triptych “Concert with European Instruments and Choir” (歐 州 管弦樂 合奏 之 圖, Ōshū kangengaku gasō no zu) from 1889 is an example of this. A woodcut from 1887 is labeled “Choir of a Primary School” (小学 唱歌 之 略 図, Shogakkō shōka no ryakuzu): 15 young men and women are grouped around a piano.

photos

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  Mirror of the nobility of Japan

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  In Ōoku

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  Concert with European instruments

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  From "Azuma no Hana"

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  Emperor Meiji in Asukayama Park

Remarks

1. ↑ From the series "Eight Views of Today's Tokyo" (今 様 東京 八景, Konyō Tōkyō Hakkei).
2. ↑ Today a district of Jōetsu .
3. ↑ 扶桑 (Fusō) is an ancient name for Japan.
4. ↑ The Asukayama Park (飛鳥 山 公園, Asukayama kōen) is a public park in Kita (Tokyo) .

literature

• Inagaki, Shin'ichi: Yōshū Hashimoto Chikanobu. In: Ukiyoe Nyūmon. Kawade, 1990. ISBN 4-309-72476-0 .
• Meech-Pekarik, Julia: Hashimoto Chikanobu. In: The World of the Meiji Print. Impressions of a new Civilization. Weatherhill, 1986.

Web links

Commons : Hashimoto Chikanobu  - Collection of Images

Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . So Hashimoto is the family name, Chikanobu the first name.