Category Archives: ukiyo-e

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

GOING GOING GONE! part two…

Posted on March 21, 2024 by toshidama

In the previous post we had a brief look at the mystification and the unhappiness that rapid technological change had upon the Japanese of the mid-nineteenth century… how their traditional ways were undermined by the sudden influx of gas lamps, … Continue reading →

Posted in Art Collector, Auctions, Japanese prints, japanese woodblock prints, Kunisada, ukiyo-e, ukiyo-e art | 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

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

Japanese Scrolls, Shunsen and Images of the Exotic

Posted on March 24, 2023 by toshidama

The Toshidama Gallery is currently showing an important collection of five vertical diptychs by the artist Katsukawa Shunsen (1762-1830). All five in the set were once mounted on hanging scrolls that were considerably longer than the double oban print. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Bijin, Floating World, geisha, Japanese prints, Japanese Scrolls, japanese woodblock prints, Puccini, Shunsen, ukiyo-e, ukiyo-e art, Yoshiwara | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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

Challenging Anomalies in a Kuniyoshi Landscape Print

Posted on March 21, 2022 by toshidama

An Early Impression of The Urami Waterfall at Nikko by Kuniyoshi from an Untitled Series of Views of Japan. A series of eight prints of views of Japan have been known for a long time by Kuniyoshi collectors and scholars. … Continue reading →

Posted in Art Collector, Japanese prints, japanese woodblock prints, Kuniyoshi, ukiyo-e, Ukiyo-e landscape art | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment