Category Archives: Hiroshige

The Complete Set of Hiroshige’s Hizakurige dōchū suzume, Assembled

Posted on March 21, 2022 by toshidama

This very unusual, rare print by Hiroshige is full of enigmas. The print comes from an aborted series of Tokaido Road prints illustrating the comic novels of Jippensha Ikku about the misadventures of two travellers on the Tokaido Road – … Continue reading →

Posted in Art Collector, Hiroshige, Japanese Art, Japanese prints, japanese woodblock prints, ukiyo-e, Ukiyo-e landscape art | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

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 , , , , , | 1 Comment

A Portrait of Ichimura Uzaemon XIII

Posted on May 8, 2020 by toshidama

On these pages are some light hearted guides to the villains and heroes of the kabuki stage. We’re calling them ‘Kabuki All-stars’. The current exhibition at the Toshidama Gallery called Ten Artists of the Floating World, features twenty three prints … Continue reading →

Posted in Hiroshige, Japanese Art, Japanese prints, japanese woodblock prints, kabuki theatre, Kunisada, ukiyo-e, ukiyo-e art, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Kunichika’s Perspectives on a Yoshiwara Tea-house

Posted on July 9, 2019 by toshidama

Here is a fascinating print by the great Meiji artist Toyoharu Kunichika. It is a big six sheet print and it shows an odd opened out box-like view of the interior of a big building. This building has an impossible … Continue reading →

Posted in geisha, Hiroshige, Japanese prints, japanese woodblock prints, Kunichika, Perspective in Art, Sugoroku, ukiyo-e, Uncategorized, Yoshiwara | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Collecting Japanese Woodblock Prints

Posted on June 23, 2019 by toshidama

Prints From the collection of Ruth Muschel and Gillies McKenna at Wolfson College, Oxford. We attended the opening of an exhibition of Japanese prints from the private collection of ukiyo-e belonging to Ruth Muschel and Gillies McKenna at Wolfson College, … Continue reading →

Posted in Art Collector, Floating World, Hiroshige, Japanese Art, Japanese prints, japanese woodblock prints, Kunisada, Kuniyoshi, ukiyo-e, ukiyo-e art, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

What to Look for in a Japanese Print

Posted on May 23, 2019 by toshidama

Hiroshige Spring Rain from the series Fifty-three Stations of the Tôkaidô Road, 1832 It is easy to slip into an enthusiasm, to think we know our way around a subject without standing back and taking an overview. As for early … Continue reading →

Posted in Hiroshige, Japanese prints, japanese woodblock prints, ukiyo-e, Uncategorized, Van Gogh | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Portraits in Series in Japanese Prints

Posted on September 14, 2018 by toshidama

Kunisada, Both Sides of the Leaf, Past and Present, 1855 Anyone starting out collecting Japanese prints will be struck by the prevalence of enigmatic portraits, three-quarter length images of actors, usually in role and set against either a landscape background … Continue reading →

Posted in Hiroshige, Hokusai, Japanese Art, Japanese prints, japanese woodblock prints, kabuki theatre, Kunichika, Kunisada, ukiyo-e | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Utagawa Lineage in Japanese Prints

Posted on July 6, 2018 by toshidama

A Basic ‘Family Tree’ of the Utagawa School. The picture above is an over simplified ‘family tree’ of the principal individuals in the Utagawa School of Japanese woodblock print artists. Toshidama Gallery has a significant online presence and we are … Continue reading →

Posted in Hiroshige, Japanese prints, japanese woodblock prints, Kunichika, Kunisada, Kuniyoshi, Toyokuni I, Toyokuni III, ukiyo-e, ukiyo-e art, utagawa, yoshitoshi | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

People, Places and Things in Japanese Prints

Posted on May 25, 2018 by toshidama

Chikanobu, Tango at the Chiyoda Palace, 1894 The new show at the Toshidama Gallery which opens on the 25th May 2018 has the apparently obvious title, People, Places and Things. I am a the director of the gallery and I … Continue reading →

Posted in Chikanobu, Hiroshige, Impressionist Art, Japanese prints, japanese woodblock prints, ukiyo-e, Van Gogh | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

History and Romance in Japanese Prints – 4 Artists at the Toshidama Gallery

Posted on January 26, 2018 by toshidama

Kunichika, Ichi-no-Tani Futaba Gunki, 1864. The scholars of the early twentieth century derided the great artists and prints of nineteenth century Japan. The assessment of artists such as Kuniyoshi and Kunisada rested on their perceived decadence… (moral or cultural decline … Continue reading →

Posted in Hiroshige, Japanese prints, japanese woodblock prints, Kunichika, Kunisada, Kuniyoshi, ukiyo-e, utagawa | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment