Tag Archives: kabuki theatre

Jasper Johns: Skin and Oshiguma

The print pictured above is by the outstanding American artist Jasper Johns. The print was made by Johns coating his skin with oil and then impressing his face and hands onto a sensitised litho plate. Charcoal was rubbed onto the … Continue reading

Posted in Ichikawa Danjuro, Japanese Art, Japanese prints, Jasper Johns, kabuki theatre, Kunisada, Pop Art, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Kabuki All-Stars #4 Ishikawa Goemon

To download this Ishikawa Goemon Kabuki card as a PDF, click this link.

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

Kabuki All-Stars #3 Benkei

To download this Benkei Kabuki card as a PDF, click this link.

Posted in Edo, Floating World, Japanese Art, japanese woodblock prints, kabuki theatre, Tokugawa Clan, Toshidama Gallery. | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Kabuki All-Stars, #1 Jiraiya

During the current crisis, Toshidama Gallery will post a series of ‘playing card’  guides to the heroes and villains of the kabuki theatre, as depicted in the woodblock prints of the nineteenth century. Not very academic, but I hope that … Continue reading

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Figures and Backgrounds in Ukiyo-e

Japanese woodblock prints liberate the figure from the ground by either dipensing with it altogether, or by embedding it like in marquetry, or by creating a series of flat cut outs arranged in shallow space – like the flats in a theatre. The figure can be turned into the complex system of signs and symbols that create narrative or else be involved in the complex visual game of ‘mitate’ where people and things stand for or make equivalence with other things… naturalism as known in the west is not part of the repetoire of ukiyo-e artists, their game was more complicated Continue reading

Posted in Figure and Ground, Japanese prints, japanese woodblock prints, kabuki theatre, ukiyo-e art, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

British Museum Acquires Japanese Prints

There has been some welcome publicity for the brilliance, the genius of Japanese woodblock prints in the last few weeeks. The Guardian newspaper donated a large chunk of webspace to  advertising  the acquisition of  some 359 Japanese prints by the … Continue reading

Posted in British Museum, Floating World, Japanese Art Gallery, Japanese prints, japanese woodblock prints, kabuki theatre, ukiyo-e, ukiyo-e art, yakusha-e | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Osaka and Edo… Woodblock Prints at Toshidama Gallery

It’s fantastic isn’t it, this great print by Hirosada from 1852. It’s one of several new prints we are showing at the Toshidama Gallery throughout July 2016. The prints are all scenes composed of more than one sheet of paper… … Continue reading

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Buying Japanese Woodblock Prints… a Print per Day at Toshidama Gallery

Chikanobu (1838 – 1912)  Jidai kagami (A mirror of the ages): The Bunsei era (1818 – 1830); Upper Inset: Dancer and people in front of a sign for nishiki-e, 1897 The photograph doesn’t do any justice at all to this … Continue reading

Posted in Art Collector, Asian Art, Chikanobu, Edo, Hirosada, Japanese prints, japanese woodblock prints, kabuki theatre, Meiji Art, Toshidama Gallery., ukiyo-e, ukiyo-e art | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Kunichika and The Masu Rice Measure

Kunichika (1835-1900)  Uesugi Kenshin and Takeda Shingen, 1882. This is a fine print, a triptych by Kunichika. The scene is from one of the many (probably terrible) melodramatic plays favoured by the kabuki actor Ichikawa Danjuro. Based on historic fact, … Continue reading

Posted in Floating World, Ichikawa Danjuro, Japanese prints, japanese woodblock prints, kabuki theatre, Kunichika, masu, Meiji Art, ukiyo-e, ukiyo-e art | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Kunichika and the Japanese Firemen

Kunichika (1835-1900)  Ichikawa Kuzo III as Kinmon Tatsugoro (centre) in Kami no Megumi Wagô no Torikumi, 1864 It is always problematic to say for sure in any print, which play, which actor, which role is pictured. What with so many … Continue reading

Posted in firemen, Floating World, Japanese prints, japanese woodblock prints, kabuki theatre, Kunichika, Kunisada, Meiji Art, sumo, sumotori, Tattoo Art, tobi, Toshidama Gallery., ukiyo-e art, utagawa | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment