Utagawa Yoshifuji

Utagawa Yoshifuji: Human pyramid

Play with sumo wrestlers

Utagawa Yoshifuji ( Japanese 歌 川 芳 藤 , real name Nishimura Tōtarō ( 西村 藤 太郎 ); born 1828 ; died 1887 ) was a Japanese painter in the Ukiyoe style during the late Edo period and early Meiji period . He also used the stage name Ippōsai ( 一 鵬 斎 , 一 宝 斎 ).

life and work

Yoshifuji was one of the numerous artists who learned their craft under Utagawa Kuniyoshi . Since the Kaei period (1848–1854) he has published prints of beautiful women, of kabuki actors and other motifs. But he was best known for his detailed representations, which were referred to as "toy pictures" ( 玩具 絵 , Omocha-e ) and which earned him the nickname "Toy Yoshifuji". Most of these prints were later lost, however. - Yoshifuji also illustrated children's books.

On the other hand, Yoshifuji followed the trend of depicting the foreigners who appeared in Yokohama after 1854, the Yokohama-e . On a print with the title “Confrontation of practical things from imports with local products” ( 舶来 和 物 戲 道具 調 法 , Hakurai-Wamotsu taware-dōgu chōhō ) you can see, for example, how a European umbrella is fighting a Japanese one, or the one Photographer with the woodcut master.

photos

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  American

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  English people

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  French people

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  Russians

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  Sumo, detail

Remarks

1. ↑ You can see five heads, but by combining the partial figures, ten people can be distinguished.
2. ↑ The print was intended for boys. It was stuck on cardboard and cut into individual cards. A game was then played with the sumo wrestling cards.

literature

• Inagaki, Shin'ichi: Utagawa Yoshifuji. In: Ukiyoe Nyūmon. Kawade, 1990. ISBN 4-309-72476-0 .
• Fukuda, Kazuhiko (Ed.): Nihon no sekimatsu. Yomiuri Shimbun, 1987. ISBN 4-643-87031-1 .
• Meech-Pekarik, Julia: The World of the Meiji Print. Impressions of a new Civilization. Weatherhill, 1986. ISBN 0-8348-0209-0
• Laurance P. Roberts: Utagawa Yoshifuji . In: A Dictionary of Japanese Artists. Weatherhill, 1976. ISBN 0-8348-0113-2 .

Web links

Commons : Utagawa Yoshifuji  - 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, Yoshifuji the first name.