Category Archives: Kunichika

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 Place of the Ainu

Posted on January 29, 2024 by toshidama

Well, this was meant to be a review of a charming exhibition currently on view at Japan House in London. The exhibition is a beautifully staged display of the history and culture of the little known Ainu people of what … Continue reading →

Posted in Ainu, Edo, Japanese Art, Kunichika, Meiji Art, spider, Tsuchigomo, yoshitoshi | 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

Toshidama Gallery, 50% SALE

Posted on September 1, 2023 by toshidama

The online market for Japanese prints is changing and the Toshidama Gallery is looking to trade more in the real than in the digital world, a platform we have innovated in for the past ten years or more. The online … Continue reading →

Posted in Japanese prints, japanese woodblock prints, Kunichika, Kunisada, Kuniyoshi, Toyokuni I, 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

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

Kabuki ! – Yakusha-e in Nineteenth Century Japan

Posted on March 17, 2021 by toshidama

The new show of Japanese Woodblock Prints at The Toshidama Gallery takes as its theme this month, the vast arena of kabuki prints, known in Japan as Yakusha-e. This is a very rich area indeed. The prints in the show … Continue reading →

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

Life Through a Deluxe Lens

Posted on October 30, 2020 by toshidama

By the middle of the nineteenth century in Japan, an extraordinary art form had developed which had taken the basic single-colour woodblock print, (a form of wet ink relief reproduction common for centuries in Europe and Asia) and made it … Continue reading →

Posted in Chushingura, Hirosada, Ichikawa Danjuro, Japanese prints, japanese woodblock prints, kabuki theatre, Kunichika, Kunisada, Osaka Prints, Toyokuni III, ukiyo-e, Uncategorized, Woodblock print | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Japanese Prints and the Tradition of Story Telling

Posted on September 17, 2020 by toshidama

Complex narrative lies at the heart of traditional Japanese culture. From the very beginnings, the Japanese were devoted to the structure of sophisticated narrative. The first true novel, the 11th century Genji monogatari – “The Tale of the Genji”- is … Continue reading →

Posted in 47 Ronin, Chushingura, Japanese prints, japanese woodblock prints, kabuki theatre, Kunichika, Kunisada, Kuniyoshi, ukiyo-e, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments