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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Chushingura actors

Chushingura actors (1855)

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

Couples in love on the veranda

Couples in love on the veranda (1840)

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

Courtesan prepares for the night

Courtesan prepares for the night (1823-1827)

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

Courtesan with two maids

Courtesan with two maids (1825-1830)

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

Edo sakura

Edo sakura (1862)

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

Farmer accompanies courtier on black ox

Farmer accompanies courtier on black ox (1850-1853)

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

Ferry in the Yodo rest area

Ferry in the Yodo rest area (1835-1845)

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

Fighting man and woman

Fighting man and woman (1831)

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

Fujikawa

Fujikawa (1835-1845)

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

Furyu Genji Suma

Furyu Genji Suma (1853)

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

Geisha under umbrella in the snow

Geisha under umbrella in the snow (1830)

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

Hinadori, Joshi no momonohana

Hinadori, Joshi no momonohana (1862)

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

Ichikawa Danjûrô VII in his dressing room

Ichikawa Danjûrô VII in his dressing room (1821)

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

Ichikawa Ebizo V,

Ichikawa Ebizo V, (1835-1839)

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

Ikezuki Geitazaemon next to a print of his hand

Ikezuki Geitazaemon next to a print of his hand (1842-1846)

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

Inari temple Oji no Inari

Inari temple Oji no Inari (1820)

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

Irises in full bloom

Irises in full bloom (1858)

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

Ishibe

Ishibe (1835-1845)

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

Iwai Hanshirô V in the role of Hitomaru

Iwai Hanshirô V in the role of Hitomaru (1823)

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

Iwai Kumesaburo III as Tamamo no Mae

Iwai Kumesaburo III as Tamamo no Mae (1862)

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

Jiraiya, Tsubosumire

Jiraiya, Tsubosumire (1862)

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

Kameido Tamaya

Kameido Tamaya (1820-1825)

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

Kawarazaki Gonjuro I

Kawarazaki Gonjuro I (1860)

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

Kawasaki

Kawasaki (1854)

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

Ki ga sekiso

Ki ga sekiso (1859)

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

Kuro

Kuro (1844)

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

Kusatsu

Kusatsu (1835-1845)

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

Kuzunoha kitsune

Kuzunoha kitsune (1862)

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

Kyoto

Kyoto (1835-1845)

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

Man at the entrance of a temple

Man at the entrance of a temple (1828)

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

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