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Kawanabe Kyōsai
Kawanabe Kyōsai

Kawanabe Kyōsai

Japanese, 1831-1889
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Kawanabe Kyōsai was a Japanese artist, in the words of art historian Timothy Clarke, "an individualist and an independent, perhaps the last virtuoso in traditional Japanese painting".

Living through the Edo period to the Meiji period, Kyōsai witnessed Japan transform itself from a feudal country into a modern state. Born at Koga, he was the son of a samurai. His first aesthetic shock was at the age of nine when he picked up a human head separated from a corpse in the Kanda river. After working for a short time as a boy with ukiyo-e artist Utagawa Kuniyoshi, he received his formal artistic training in the Kanō school under Maemura Tōwa (前村洞和, ? – 1841), who gave him the nickname "The Painting Demon", but Kyōsai soon abandoned the formal traditions for the greater freedom of the popular school. During the political ferment which produced and followed the revolution of 1867, Kyōsai attained a reputation as a caricaturist. His very long painting on makimono (a horizontal type of Japanese handscroll/scroll) "The battle of the farts" may be seen as a caricature of this ferment. He was arrested three times and imprisoned by the authorities of the shogunate. Soon after the assumption of effective power by the Emperor, a great congress of painters and men of letters was held at which Kyōsai was present. He again expressed his opinion of the new movement in a caricature, which had a great popular success, but also brought him into the hands of the police, this time of the opposite party.

Kyōsai is considered by many to be the greatest successor of Hokusai (of whom, however, he was not a pupil), as well as the first political caricaturist of Japan. His work mirrored his life in its wild and undisciplined nature, and occasionally reflected his love of drink. Although he did not possess Hokusai's dignity, power or reticence, he compensated with a fantastic exuberance, which always lent interest to his technically excellent draughtsmanship.

He created what is considered to be the first manga magazine in 1874: Eshinbun Nipponchi, with Kanagaki Robun. The magazine was heavily influenced by Japan Punch, founded in 1862 by Charles Wirgman, a British cartoonist. Eshinbun Nipponchi had a very simple style of drawings and did not become popular with many people, and ended after just three issues.

In addition to his caricatures, Kyōsai painted a large number of pictures and sketches, often choosing subjects from the folklore of his country, Nô drama, nature and religion, for example The Temptation of Shaka Niorai or The goddess Kwannon on a dragon (on kakejiku frame) A fine collection of these works is preserved in the British Museum; and there are also good examples in the National Art Library at South Kensington and the Guimet Museum at Paris. The Kawanabe Kyōsai Memorial Museum was established in 1977, located at Warabi, Saitama Prefecture, Japan.

Erwin Bälz wrote in his diary that Kyosai died because of gastric cancer.

A crater on Mercury has been named in his honor.

76 items

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Crow Resting on Wood Trunk

Crow Resting on Wood Trunk

Kawanabe Kyōsai (Japanese, 1831-1889)
Asian Art
Monkeys

Monkeys (1888)

Kawanabe Kyōsai (Japanese, 1831-1889)
Asian Art
Monkey Hanging from Grapevines

Monkey Hanging from Grapevines (ca. 1887)

Kawanabe Kyōsai (Japanese, 1831-1889)
Asian Art
Fox Catching Bird

Fox Catching Bird (ca. 1887)

Kawanabe Kyōsai (Japanese, 1831-1889)
Asian Art
Flock of Crows at Dawn

Flock of Crows at Dawn (ca. 1887)

Kawanabe Kyōsai (Japanese, 1831-1889)
Asian Art
Fish in a Whirlpool

Fish in a Whirlpool (ca. 1887)

Kawanabe Kyōsai (Japanese, 1831-1889)
Asian Art
Eagle Holding Small Bird

Eagle Holding Small Bird (ca. 1887)

Kawanabe Kyōsai (Japanese, 1831-1889)
Asian Art
Eagle Attacking Fish

Eagle Attacking Fish (ca. 1887)

Kawanabe Kyōsai (Japanese, 1831-1889)
Asian Art
Eagle Attacking a Mountain Lion

Eagle Attacking a Mountain Lion (1885)

Kawanabe Kyōsai (Japanese, 1831-1889)
Asian Art
Deer and Monkeys

Deer and Monkeys (ca. 1887)

Kawanabe Kyōsai (Japanese, 1831-1889)
Asian Art
Mount Fuji

Mount Fuji (ca. 1887)

Kawanabe Kyōsai (Japanese, 1831-1889)
Asian Art
Crow on a Rock

Crow on a Rock (ca. 1887)

Kawanabe Kyōsai (Japanese, 1831-1889)
Asian Art
Crow on a Branch

Crow on a Branch (ca. 1887)

Kawanabe Kyōsai (Japanese, 1831-1889)
Asian Art
Crow on a Branch.

Crow on a Branch. (ca. 1887)

Kawanabe Kyōsai (Japanese, 1831-1889)
Asian Art
Crow on a Bamboo Branch

Crow on a Bamboo Branch (ca. 1887)

Kawanabe Kyōsai (Japanese, 1831-1889)
Asian Art
Crow Flying in the Snow

Crow Flying in the Snow (ca. 1887)

Kawanabe Kyōsai (Japanese, 1831-1889)
Asian Art
Crow and Willow Tree

Crow and Willow Tree (ca. 1887)

Kawanabe Kyōsai (Japanese, 1831-1889)
Asian Art
Crow and the Moon

Crow and the Moon (ca. 1887)

Kawanabe Kyōsai (Japanese, 1831-1889)
Asian Art
Crow and Reeds by a Stream

Crow and Reeds by a Stream (ca. 1887)

Kawanabe Kyōsai (Japanese, 1831-1889)
Asian Art
Singing Bird on a Branch

Singing Bird on a Branch (ca. 1887)

Kawanabe Kyōsai (Japanese, 1831-1889)
Asian Art
White-Robed Kannon

White-Robed Kannon (ca. 1887)

Kawanabe Kyōsai (Japanese, 1831-1889)
Asian Art
Waterfall, Eagle and Monkey

Waterfall, Eagle and Monkey (ca. 1887)

Kawanabe Kyōsai (Japanese, 1831-1889)
Asian Art
Urashima Tarō Riding on a Tortoise

Urashima Tarō Riding on a Tortoise (after 1888)

Kawanabe Kyōsai (Japanese, 1831-1889)
Asian Art
Two Crows on a Pine Branch

Two Crows on a Pine Branch (ca. 1887)

Kawanabe Kyōsai (Japanese, 1831-1889)
Asian Art
Two Children Playing with Goldfish

Two Children Playing with Goldfish (ca. 1887)

Kawanabe Kyōsai (Japanese, 1831-1889)
Asian Art
Two Birds on a Branch

Two Birds on a Branch (ca. 1887)

Kawanabe Kyōsai (Japanese, 1831-1889)
Asian Art
Swallows by a Waterfall

Swallows by a Waterfall (ca. 1887)

Kawanabe Kyōsai (Japanese, 1831-1889)
Asian Art
Starlings on a Branch

Starlings on a Branch (ca. 1887)

Kawanabe Kyōsai (Japanese, 1831-1889)
Asian Art
Squirrels Gathering Chestnuts

Squirrels Gathering Chestnuts (ca. 1887)

Kawanabe Kyōsai (Japanese, 1831-1889)
Asian Art
Cranes in Marsh

Cranes in Marsh (ca. 1887)

Kawanabe Kyōsai (Japanese, 1831-1889)
Asian Art
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