Category Archives: Utagawa Yoshiiku

Japanese Portraiture and the Graven Image

Posted on November 25, 2013 by toshidama

I’m being a little disingenuous with the title of this piece… there’s an intended pun on gravure (from relief printing) and the idea of a graven image (something carved and to be worshipped) – the word is also used in … Continue reading →

Posted in Japanese prints, japanese woodblock prints, kabuki theatre, Kunichika, Kunisada, ukiyo-e art, Utagawa Yoshiiku | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Japanese Zodiac – Animals in Ukiyo-e

Posted on November 9, 2011 by toshidama

Eisen, Tiger in Bamboo The subject of the Japanese (Chinese) zodiac would take many hundreds of pages accurately to describe. It is a complex system of Buddhist symbolism, planetary observation and Imperial obeisance. The Japanese Zodiac and calendar were introduced … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian Art, Floating World, Japanese Art, Japanese Art Gallery, Japanese prints, japanese woodblock prints, Japanese Zodiac, Kunichika, Kunisada, Toshidama Gallery., ukiyo-e art, Uncategorized, Utagawa Yoshiiku | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

13 Assassins – or maybe 17?

Posted on May 10, 2011 by toshidama

The London billboards are plastered with movie posters right now, advertising the new Japanese film 13 Assassins by the renowned film-maker Toshiaki Nakazawa. Regular readers of this blog will be already familiar with the Japanese history of The Revenge of … Continue reading →

Posted in 13 Assassins, Floating World, Japanese Art, Japanese Art Gallery, Japanese prints, japanese woodblock prints, Kuniyoshi, Toshidama Gallery., ukiyo-e art, Utagawa Yoshiiku | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Madame Butterfly and Kunichika’s Strong Women

Posted on February 1, 2011 by toshidama

  This month, the Royal Albert Hall in London celebrates the work of Puccini with a production of Madame Butterfly. This famous opera, written in 1904 has many merits as a piece of music but also raises interesting questions about … Continue reading →

Posted in Floating World, geisha, Japanese Art, Japanese Art Gallery, Japanese prints, japanese woodblock prints, Kunichika, Madam Butterfly, Puccini, Toshidama Gallery., ukiyo-e art, Utagawa Yoshiiku | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

GAUGUIN IN PRINT…

Posted on October 27, 2010 by toshidama

…or maybe that should be prints in Gauguin…Japanese prints, that is. There’s a big show of Paul Gauguin’s paintings at the Tate Gallery in London this month. He’s a little overlooked compared to contemporaries such as Van Gogh so the … Continue reading →

Posted in Cezanne, Hiroshige, Japanese Art, japanese woodblock prints, Kunisada, Paul Gauguin, Toshidama Gallery., ukiyo-e art, Utagawa Yoshiiku, Van Gogh | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 30 Comments