Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III)

Japanese, 1786 – 1865

Utagawa Kunisada, also known as Utagawa Toyokuni III (三代歌川豊国 Sandai Utagawa Toyokuni), was the most popular, prolific and commercially successful designer of ukiyo-e woodblock prints in 19th-century Japan. In his own time, his reputation far exceeded that of his contemporaries, Hokusai, Hiroshige and Kuniyoshi.

At the end of the Edo period (1603–1867), Hiroshige, Kuniyoshi and Kunisada were the three best representatives of the Japanese color woodcut in Edo (capital city of Japan, now Tokyo). However, among European and American collectors of Japanese prints, beginning in the late 19th and early 20th century, all three of these artists were actually regarded as rather inferior to the greats of classical ukiyo-e, and therefore as having contributed considerably to the downfall of their art. For this reason, some referred to their works as "decadent".

Beginning in the 1930s and 1970s, respectively, the works of Hiroshige and Kuniyoshi were submitted to a re-evaluation, and these two are now counted among the masters of their art. Thus, from Kunisada alone was withheld, for a long time, the acknowledgment which is due to him. With a few exceptions, such as actor portraits (yakusha-e) and portraits of beautiful women (bijin-ga), at the beginning of his career, and some series of large-size actor head-portraits near the end, it was thought that he had produced only inferior works. It was not until the early 1990s, with the appearance of Jan van Doesburg's overview of the artistic development of Kunisada, and Sebastian Izzard's extensive study of his work, that this picture began to change, with Kunisada more clearly revealed as one of the "giants" of the Japanese print that he was.

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Eight Figural Views (Sugata Hakkei) Pl.7

Eight Figural Views (Sugata Hakkei) Pl.7 (1850)

Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III) (Japanese, 1786 – 1865)

Eight Figural Views (Sugata Hakkei) Pl.6

Eight Figural Views (Sugata Hakkei) Pl.6 (1850)

Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III) (Japanese, 1786 – 1865)

Eight Figural Views (Sugata Hakkei) Pl.5

Eight Figural Views (Sugata Hakkei) Pl.5 (1850)

Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III) (Japanese, 1786 – 1865)

Eight Figural Views (Sugata Hakkei) Pl.4

Eight Figural Views (Sugata Hakkei) Pl.4 (1850)

Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III) (Japanese, 1786 – 1865)

Eight Figural Views (Sugata Hakkei) Pl.3

Eight Figural Views (Sugata Hakkei) Pl.3 (1850)

Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III) (Japanese, 1786 – 1865)

Eight Figural Views (Sugata Hakkei) Pl.2

Eight Figural Views (Sugata Hakkei) Pl.2 (1850)

Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III) (Japanese, 1786 – 1865)

Woman with a Hand Mirror from the series The Six Tama Rivers of the Floating World

Woman with a Hand Mirror from the series The Six Tama Rivers of the Floating World (c. early 1830s)

Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III) (Japanese, 1786 – 1865)

The Courtesan Shiratama of the Tamaya

The Courtesan Shiratama of the Tamaya (c. early 1810s)

Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III) (Japanese, 1786 – 1865)

Woman Standing Beside a Plum Tree

Woman Standing Beside a Plum Tree (c. 1850)

Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III) (Japanese, 1786 – 1865)

Abalone Divers off the Coast of Ise, from an Untitled Landscape Series

Abalone Divers off the Coast of Ise, from an Untitled Landscape Series (early 1830s)

Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III) (Japanese, 1786 – 1865)

Woman Putting Out a Light (from the series Modern Customs: Frost Beneath the Stars)

Woman Putting Out a Light (from the series Modern Customs: Frost Beneath the Stars) (c. 1820)

Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III) (Japanese, 1786 – 1865)

Preparing Bonita

Preparing Bonita (1823-1880)

Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III) (Japanese, 1786 – 1865)

The Courtesans Hanamurasaki and Koshikibu of the Tamaya Promenading in the Rain

The Courtesans Hanamurasaki and Koshikibu of the Tamaya Promenading in the Rain (c. early 1830s)

Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III) (Japanese, 1786 – 1865)

Musashibo Benkei Kneeling by a Plum Tree

Musashibo Benkei Kneeling by a Plum Tree (c. mid or late 1810s)

Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III) (Japanese, 1786 – 1865)

Woman Tying Her Hair (from the series Famous Restaurants of the Present Day)

Woman Tying Her Hair (from the series Famous Restaurants of the Present Day) (c. early 1820s)

Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III) (Japanese, 1786 – 1865)

Woman Leaving a Bath House (from the series Pictures from Otsu)

Woman Leaving a Bath House (from the series Pictures from Otsu) (c. mid 1820s)

Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III) (Japanese, 1786 – 1865)

Woman Diver Combing her Hair

Woman Diver Combing her Hair (1786-1864)

Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III) (Japanese, 1786 – 1865)

Seated Woman Washing Clothes in a Wooden Tub

Seated Woman Washing Clothes in a Wooden Tub (1786-1864)

Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III) (Japanese, 1786 – 1865)

Harumichi no Tsuraki from the series A Pictorial Commentary on One Hundred Poems by One Hundred Poets, no. 31

Harumichi no Tsuraki from the series A Pictorial Commentary on One Hundred Poems by One Hundred Poets, no. 31 (1844-47)

Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III) (Japanese, 1786 – 1865)

Woman with a Fan in her Left Hand Combing her Hair

Woman with a Fan in her Left Hand Combing her Hair (1786-1864)

Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III) (Japanese, 1786 – 1865)

Woman Bucking Autumn Wind

Woman Bucking Autumn Wind (1786-1864)

Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III) (Japanese, 1786 – 1865)

A View of the Large New Room at Sakurai

A View of the Large New Room at Sakurai (early or mid 1830s)

Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III) (Japanese, 1786 – 1865)

The Military Tales of Han and Chu: Fan Kuai of the Han

The Military Tales of Han and Chu: Fan Kuai of the Han (c. late 1820s)

Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III) (Japanese, 1786 – 1865)

Nakamura Utaemon III as the Monkey Trainer Yojiro (from the series Famous Kabuki Plays)

Nakamura Utaemon III as the Monkey Trainer Yojiro (from the series Famous Kabuki Plays) (mid-1810s)

Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III) (Japanese, 1786 – 1865)

Ichikawa Danjuro VII as Kan Shojo in the Mt. Tenpai Scene, from the series Famous Kabuki Plays

Ichikawa Danjuro VII as Kan Shojo in the Mt. Tenpai Scene, from the series Famous Kabuki Plays (1814)

Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III) (Japanese, 1786 – 1865)

Muraogi, from the series The False Murasaki’s Rustic Genji (Nise Murasaki Inaka Genji)

Muraogi, from the series The False Murasaki’s Rustic Genji (Nise Murasaki Inaka Genji) (1830s)

Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III) (Japanese, 1786 – 1865)

A Duel; Two Warriors

A Duel; Two Warriors (ca. 1813–1833)

Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III) (Japanese, 1786 – 1865)

Actor Ichimura Buzaemon (playing an unidentified role)

Actor Ichimura Buzaemon (playing an unidentified role) (19th century)

Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III) (Japanese, 1786 – 1865)

Actor Iwai Hanshiro in the Role of Oito

Actor Iwai Hanshiro in the Role of Oito (ca. 1830)

Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III) (Japanese, 1786 – 1865)

Actor Playing the Role of Nuregami

Actor Playing the Role of Nuregami (19th century)

Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III) (Japanese, 1786 – 1865)

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