Category Archives: Edo

Cherry Blossom – Damien Hirst – Joe Machine and… the Art of Japan

Posted on February 9, 2022 by toshidama

There is a minor furore in the UK press at the moment regarding the latest pictures by the British contemporary artist Damien Hirst. Mr Hirst has spent three years making lots of large paintings of cherry blossoms which of course … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian Art, Cherry Blossom, Chikanobu, Edo, Hiroshige, Impressionist Art, Kunisada, ukiyo-e | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Tales in Japanese Woodblock Prints

Posted on February 9, 2022 by toshidama

The January 2022 exhibition at the Toshidama Gallery looks at prints that tell a story… which is of course the vast majority of the output of Japanese kabuki theatre and history prints. The absence of still-life for example, and the … Continue reading →

Posted in Edo, firemen, Floating World, Hirosada, Japanese Art, japanese woodblock prints, ukiyo-e, ukiyo-e art, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Simple Guide To Popular Osaka Woodblock Prints

Posted on October 1, 2021 by toshidama

This very lovely Osaka woodblock print from 1839 is by a great Japanese artist called Sadamasu. One of the most frequent questions we are asked at the Toshidama Gallery is why prints produced in the city of Osaka are so … Continue reading →

Posted in Edo, Hirosada, Japanese Art, Japanese prints, japanese woodblock prints, kabuki theatre, Kunisada, Osaka Prints, Osaka School, ukiyo-e, Yoshitaki | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Kabuki & Sugoroku at Toshidama Gallery

Posted on April 30, 2021 by toshidama

Kabuki drama and therefore the woodblock prints that derive from the performances, are populated by Heroes and Villains. It is a simplistic view of the world, an escapism similar in many respects to the contemporary gaming that owes a great … Continue reading →

Posted in Edo, Japanese prints, japanese woodblock prints, kabuki theatre, Kunichika, Kunisada, Sugoroku, ukiyo-e, yakusha-e | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Yeats, Pound, T S Eliot and Japanese Theatre

Posted on April 19, 2021 by toshidama

The first performance of At The Hawk’s Well was on 2nd April in the drawing room of Cunard’s Mayfair house. The work was performed in part by the Japanese dancer Michio Ito Continue reading →

Posted in Aesthetic Movement, Asian Art, Edo, Japanese Art, kabuki theatre, ukiyo-e, Uncategorized, Upside-down Man, Woodblock print, Wyndham Lewis, yakusha-e | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Four Artists of the Floating World

Posted on January 19, 2021 by toshidama

Toshidama Japanese Prints is starting 2021 with a close look at four of the leading artists of the Japanese woodblock scene. The gallery frequently shows 4 x 4 shows – exhibitions that focus on just four prints by each artist. … Continue reading →

Posted in Edo, Ichikawa Danjuro, Japanese prints, japanese woodblock prints, kabuki theatre, Kunichika, Kunisada, musha-e, Toyokuni I, ukiyo-e, Uncategorized, utagawa, yoshitoshi | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Kabuki All-Stars #3 Benkei

Posted on April 20, 2020 by toshidama

To download this Benkei Kabuki card as a PDF, click this link.

Posted in Edo, Floating World, Japanese Art, japanese woodblock prints, kabuki theatre, Tokugawa Clan, Toshidama Gallery. | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Sugoroku Magic – Narukami shonin

Posted on August 22, 2019 by toshidama

Below the great rat of Yoshitaka on the sugoroku board we are featuring, is this splendid figure in feiry robes and clouds of smoke. It is the magician Narukami. Narukami lived in a hermitage near a waterfall in which he … Continue reading →

Posted in Edo, Floating World, ghosts, Japanese Demon, Kunisada, Magical, supernatural Japanese print, Toshidama Gallery., ukiyo-e, ukiyo-e art | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Sugoroku Magic – Shimidzu no Kwanja Yoshitaka

Posted on July 30, 2019 by toshidama

What a spendid rat! The magician riding along here is not Nikki Danjo – the great kabuki villain who transforms into a rat in order to steal a valuable scroll – this chap is Shimidzu no Kwanja Yoshitaka. He was … Continue reading →

Posted in Edo, Floating World, Japanese Art, Japanese prints, japanese woodblock prints, kabuki theatre, Kunichika, Magical, supernatural Japanese print, Toshidama Gallery. | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Sugoroku Magic – Jiraiya

Posted on July 25, 2019 by toshidama

A series of magicians and ghosts all taken from squares on a nineteenth century sugoroku board by the artist Kunichika Continue reading →

Posted in Asian Art, Edo, Floating World, Japanese Art, kabuki theatre, Kunichika, Kunisada, Magical, Sugoroku, Toshidama Gallery., ukiyo-e, ukiyo-e art | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment