Category Archives: kabuki theatre

GOING, GOING, GONE! Part one…

Posted on March 21, 2024 by toshidama

The picture above (currently on sale at Toshidama Gallery), is by the nineteenth century Japanese artist, Toyohara Kunichika. It shows a baffled actor in the role of Gonpachi from a famous darkened scene of the kabuki stage. Gonpachi is reading … Continue reading →

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

The Dogs of War!

Posted on March 6, 2024 by toshidama

The print above is one of a series, The Chronicles of the Eight Dog Heroes of the Satomi Clan of Nanso… quite a mouthful! It is a remarkable story that has not directly translated to western tastes and contains a … Continue reading →

Posted in Hakkenden, Japanese prints, japanese woodblock prints, kabuki theatre, ukiyo-e, Woodblock print | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Michizane and the Inner Demon

Posted on February 1, 2024 by toshidama

The chuban woodblock print above is of an actor in the role of the medieval courtier and diplomat, Sugawara no Michizane. There’s very little to go on when teasing information from it… the cursive script in the cartouche doesn’t tell … Continue reading →

Posted in Edo, Japanese Art, Japanese prints, Japanese Temple, japanese woodblock prints, kabuki theatre, Kunisada, Toshidama Gallery., ukiyo-e, ukiyo-e art, Woodblock print | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ornament and Crime – Tattoos in Woodblock Prints

Posted on December 8, 2023 by toshidama

The completely fantastical tattoo subject above is a woodblock print by the Japanese ukiyo-e artist Kunisada from 1862. It is a complex design, and a tremendous and highly original tattoo! The print is part of a small selection of prints … Continue reading →

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

A Kunisada Otsu-e Print

Posted on November 3, 2023 by toshidama

What a joyous and splendid image this Kunisada print is. An artist… (perhaps a portrait of Kunisada himself?) leans back in astonishment, one hand holding a Japanese brush and clutching his brow, the other gripping the table for support. Before … Continue reading →

Posted in Earthquake, Japanese prints, japanese woodblock prints, kabuki theatre, Kunisada, Otsu-e, ukiyo-e | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

New Japanese Woodblock Prints at Toshidama Gallery

Posted on December 2, 2022 by toshidama

We are very happy indeed after a long break of six months to be able to put a selection of nearly twenty new prints online at the Toshidama Gallery. A new show, Ukiyo-e Characters, will go online on Friday the … Continue reading →

Posted in Hirosada, Ichikawa Kodanji, Japanese Art, Japanese prints, japanese woodblock prints, kabuki theatre, Kunichika, Kunisada, Okubi-e, Osaka Prints, Toyokuni III, ukiyo-e art | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Toyokuni III (1786-1865) Actors at the Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido Road (Tokaido gojusan tsugi no uchi) #4: Kanagawa Station, 1852.

Posted on October 19, 2021 by toshidama

Probably one of the most successful editions of woodblock prints of all time, Kunisada’s inspired and justly famous series of actors and the stations of the Tokaido Road marries two of the most popular genres of ukiyo-e into one theme. … Continue reading →

Posted in japanese woodblock prints, kabuki theatre, Kunisada, Toyokuni III, 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 , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Fighting Spirit in Japanese Prints

Posted on July 9, 2021 by toshidama

Japanese woodblock prints fall into a few specific genres: Warrior prints (musha-e), actor prints (yakusha-e), Beautiful Women (Bijin-ga) and landscape prints. Sometimes these categories overlap in as much as you may have a kabuki actor masquerading as a warrior in … Continue reading →

Posted in Hirosada, Japanese prints, japanese woodblock prints, kabuki theatre, Kunisada, musha-e, ukiyo-e, Utagawa Yoshikazu, Yokohama, yoshitoshi | 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 , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment