Utagawa Kunisada II.

Utagawa Kunisada II ( Japanese 歌 川 国 貞 二代 ; * 1823 ; † July 20, 1880 in Edo ), also known as Utagawa Toyokuni IV ( 歌 川 豊 国 四 代 ), was a master of Japanese color, woodcut and painting in the style of the ukiyo-e who lived and worked in Edo.

life and work

Print from the series The Tale of the Heroes of the Eight Dogs , Nakamura Tamasuke I as Moriguchi Kurō, 1852

Little is known about his life. He was born as Takenouchi Munehisa ( 竹 内 宗 久 ). Towards the end of the 1830s, he entered the workshop of Kunisada I as a student to begin training as a woodcut artist. The exact date is not known. Kunisada I gave him the stage name "Kunimasa" (III.) ( 国 政 ), with which he signed his first prints, published in 1844. Two years later, in 1846, he was adopted by Kunisada I after he married his eldest daughter, Osuzu. Contrary to popular belief, he continued to sign his prints with “Kunimasa” for a few years after the adoption. The name change to Kunisada (II.) Took place only in 1850/1851 after Kunisada I had given him his house in Kameido, in today's Kōtō district in Tokyo. After Kunisada I's death in 1865, Kunisada II became the formal head of the Utagawa School . Around 1869/1870 he began to sign his work with Toyokuni (III.), Whereby, like Kunisada I, he overlooked the fact that Toyoshige , Toyokuni's adoptive son I , had already carried the legitimate name Toyokuni II. Kunisada I was in fact Toyokuni III. and Kunisada II. thus in the correct count Toyokuni IV. Kunisada II is buried in the cemetery of Banshōin Kōun-ji ( 萬昌 院 功 運 寺 ) in today's Nakano district in Tokyo. His posthumous Buddhist name was Sankōin Hokokujutei Shinji.

Print from the series Maps by Murasaki Shikibus Genji , chapter 11, Hana-chiru-sato, 1857

Kunisada II designed the templates for several thousand woodcuts in the course of his artistic work. As with his teacher, his focus was on drafts for kabuki prints and actor portraits, without ever being able to match its success. He is also known for Genji , Bijin-e prints and prints of sumo wrestlers. His greatest successes included the series The Story of the Heroes of the Eight Dogs ( Hakkenden inu no shōshi no uchi ) and playing cards by Murasaki Shikibus Genji ( Murasaki Shikibu Genji karuta ). In addition to numerous single sheets, more than 40 series are known from him. In total, he worked on behalf of almost 50 different publishers. In addition, he was involved in the illustration of almost 200 books in the course of his artistic career. His popularity with the public declined dramatically with the beginning of the Meiji period , so that he received only a few commissions from publishers. After 1874 no more works are known of him.

On his prints he signed Kunimasa (III.) ( 国 政 ) until the end of 1850 , then with Kunisada (II.) ( 国 貞 ) and from 1869/1870 with Toyokuni (IV.) ( 豊 国 ). He used the names Baidō ( 梅 堂 ), Hōraisha ( 宝来 舎 ), Ichijutei (approx. 1844) ( 一 寿亭 ), Ichijusai (approx. 1844–1854) ( 一 寿 斎 ), and Baichōrō (approx. 1852– 1870) ( 梅 蝶 楼 ) in front of his respective artist name.

Three of his students, Kunimasa IV. (国 政 四 代), Kunitsuna II. ( 国 綱 二代 ) and Toyonobu ( 豊 宣 ), were also successful as woodcut artists during the Meiji period . From other students, like Kuniyuki ( 国 幸 ) or Masahisa ( 政 久 ), only a few works can be proven.

annotation

1. ↑ Some sources state that his first work was the illustration of the Shunga book First Fog ( Hatsu gasumi ). A. Marks refers in Japanese Woodblock Prints. Artists, Publishers, and Masterworks 1680-1900. , P. 150, on the fact that this book is signed with the name "Kochōko Matahei" and that this signature was one of the pseudonyms Kunisada I, with which this had provided his erotic works.
2. ↑ Due to the special combination of the censorship seals that can be found on prints on which the signature "Kunimasa, who changed his name to Kunisada II." ( 国 政 ​​改 二代 目 国 貞 , Kunimasa aratame nidaime Kunisada ) can be read, the name change not before 1850. The foreword to the book The Character of Moral Women ( Ochigusa nyōbō katagi ) illustrated by Kunisada II is dated to the second month of 1851. The illustrator's signature in the twelfth volume is "Kunimasa aratame nidaime Kunisada". After A. Marks, Japanese Woodblock Prints. Artists, Publishers, and Masterworks 1680-1900. , P. 150, the renaming from Kunimasa to Kunisada (II.) Took place at this point in time or shortly before.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Two of his ink paintings are in the Kumamoto Prefectural Museum of Art. See here and here , accessed February 3, 2014, Japanese.
2. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} A. Marks, p. 150.
3. ↑ The database of the National Institute of Japanese Literature lists exactly 191 titles that were created with his participation, Union Catalog of Early Japanese Books. (Entry in Kanji required)
4. ↑ " ukiyo-e-shi sōran " (浮世 絵 師 総 覧) , "Complete bibliography of ukiyoe artists" (Japanese)

literature

• Andreas Marks: Japanese Woodblock Prints. Artists, Publishers, and Masterworks 1680-1900. Tuttle, Tokyo et al. 2010, ISBN 978-4-8053-1055-7 , pp. 150-154. (English)
• Amy Reigle Newland (Ed.): The Hotei Encyclopedia of Japanese Woodblock Prints. 2 volumes. Hotei, Amsterdam 2005, ISBN 90-74822-65-7 , p. 503. (English)

Web links

Commons : Utagawa Kunisada II.  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . Thus, Utagawa is the family name, Kunisada II. The first name.