Tag Archives: kuniyoshi

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

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

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

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

Tales Of Old Japan

Posted on June 29, 2020 by toshidama

The new selection of prints online at Toshidama Japanese Prints takes inspiration from a book published by an English aristocrat in 1871. They are a random collection of folk tales, myths and stories from before the great modernisation of Japan … Continue reading →

Posted in Japanese prints, japanese woodblock prints, Kunichika, Kunisada, Kuniyoshi, Lord Redesdale, Otokodate, ukiyo-e, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Where are the Shadows in Japanese Prints

Posted on November 21, 2019 by toshidama

Utagawa Kunisada/Toyokuni III (1786-1865) Tokaido Yotsuya Kaidan, 1831. An unusual feature of Japanese woodblock prints, one often overlooked by experts and by the casual ‘reader’, is the unsettling absence of shadows. In western drawing and painting shadows form the very … Continue reading →

Posted in ghosts, Japanese Art, Japanese prints, japanese woodblock prints, kabuki theatre, ukiyo-e, Uncategorized, Utagawa Yoshikazu, Woodblock print | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Bandits, Brigands and Warlords.

Posted on September 27, 2019 by toshidama

Kuniyoshi, The 108 Heroes of the Popular Suikoden: Du Qian, the Sky Toucher, 1827 Perhaps we should look at these tremendous Japanese prints of fighting men – heroic or tragic figures… bound as they are in myth and history – … Continue reading →

Posted in Hokusai, Japanese prints, japanese woodblock prints, kabuki theatre, Kuniyoshi, musha-e, Otokodate, ukiyo-e, Uncategorized, yoshitoshi | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

What to Look for in a Japanese Print

Posted on May 23, 2019 by toshidama

Hiroshige Spring Rain from the series Fifty-three Stations of the Tôkaidô Road, 1832 It is easy to slip into an enthusiasm, to think we know our way around a subject without standing back and taking an overview. As for early … Continue reading →

Posted in Hiroshige, Japanese prints, japanese woodblock prints, ukiyo-e, Uncategorized, Van Gogh | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Onnagata – Gender in Kabuki and Japanese Prints

Posted on April 12, 2019 by toshidama

Kunichika, Scene from the Play ‘Ashiya Doman Ouchi Kagami’, 1881     We have written extensively on our gallery blogs about the onnagata – male kabuki actors who take female roles. There is something unique in the representations of gender … Continue reading →

Posted in Japanese prints, japanese woodblock prints, kabuki theatre, Kunichika, Kunisada, Toyokuni III, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment