Toyohara Kunichika

Toyohara Kunichika

Actor portrait

Toyohara Kunichika ( japanese 豊原国周 , real name: Arakawa Yasohachi ( 荒川八十八 .), Born the thirtieth June 1835 in Edo . D 1. July 1900 ) led the stage name Beio ( 米翁 ), Hōshunrō ( 豊春楼 ) , Ichiōsai ( 一 鶯 斎 ), Kachōrō ( 華 蝶 楼 ), Shima Sanjin ( 志 満 山人 ) and Sōgenshi ( 豊 玄子 ). He was a Japanese Ukiyoe- style painter during the Meiji period and, along with Tsukioka Yoshitoshi and Kobayashi Kiyochika , was one of the "Three Outstanding Artists" ( 三傑 , Sanketsu ) of their style at the end of the 19th century.

life and work

Toyohara was born in Edo as the son of a bath house operator in the Kyobashi district. He was initially a student of Toyohara Chikanobu ( 豊 原 周延 ; 1838-1912), whose family name he adopted. There he painted the backs of badminton rackets ( 羽 子 板 , Hago-ita ). Around 1848 he studied under Utagawa Kunisada and painted under the name Yasohachi parts of his master’s actors. From 1855 he designed under the name Ichōsai Kunichika prints of beautiful women, prints on Prince Genji and other subjects.

In 1869 he brought out a series of 22 sheets with actors, which had been printed by the publishing house Gusokuya ( Verlag 屋 ). The large head of the sitter filled the page even more than was the case with traditional Ōkubi-e ( 大 首 絵 ), so that one can speak of Ōgao-e ( 大 顔 絵 ). In this style, Kunichika produced with Kunisada in later years series of actors at Kinshōdō ( 絹 昇堂 ) who eclipsed the prints of the older Utagawa Yoshitora and made him the leader in the genre.

In 1870 a series of prints on Ōhashiya ( 大橋 屋 ) came out, namely as two-leaf or three-leaf prints, again as Ōgao-e. During these years, Kunichika was extremely popular: With his expressive depictions, he was considered the " Sharaku of the Meiji period".

Kunichika was a typical Edokko : he spent the money as quickly as he made it and was very fond of sake . He lived in Nagaya ( 長 屋 ), the simplest barracks, is said to have moved 103 times and had forty different wives one after the other. For all this lifestyle he was one of the last to successfully create ukiyo-e in the traditional way.

photos

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Remarks

1. ↑ From the 22 sheet series of 1869: Kabuki actor Onoue Kikugorō V. ( 尾 上 菊 五郎 ; 1844–1903).

literature

• Inagaki, Shin'ichi: Toyohara Kunichika. In: Ukiyoe Nyūmon. Kawade, 1990. ISBN 4-309-72476-0 .
• Laurance P. Roberts: Toyohara Kunichika . In: A Dictionary of Japanese Artists. Weatherhill, 1976. ISBN 0-8348-0113-2 .

Web links

Commons : Toyohara Kunichika  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . Thus Toyohara is the family name, Kunichika the first name.