Tag Archives: Yoshitoshi

Kinbaku Part II – Seiu Ito and his Rope Bondage Fetish

Posted on June 10, 2016 by

Back in 2012 I wrote a piece on Kinbaku, having spent an evening with the very charming Midori, an exponent of sexual bondage and rope play… we had dinner. At the time, I wasn’t really familiar with the art of … Continue reading →

Posted in Hell Courtesan, Japanese prints, japanese woodblock prints, Kinbaku, Kunichika, Seiu Ito, ukiyo-e, ukiyo-e art, yoshitoshi | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Hikimayu…Fashion Trends of the Heian Period

Posted on April 26, 2016 by

Kunichika (1835-1900) Thirty-six Good and Evil Beauties: Shirabyoshi Dancer on a Boat, 1876. I love this series of prints by Kunichika. It’s called 36 Good and Evil Beauties and is one of his finest series of woodblock prints. Each print, … Continue reading →

Posted in Floating World, geisha, Hikimayu, Japanese Eyebrows, japanese hair styling, Japanese prints, japanese woodblock prints, Kunichika, Meiji Art, ukiyo-e, ukiyo-e art, yoshitoshi | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Fumi-e, Christian Persecution in Tokugawa Japan… “Silence”, a New Film by Martin Scorsese

Posted on April 24, 2016 by

Yoshitoshi (1839 – 1892) One Hundred Aspects of the Moon: Gen’i Composes a Poem to the Moon, 1887 The very lovely Japanese woodblock print above is of a Japanese Buddhist priest and diplomat of the sixteenth century called Gen’i. We … Continue reading →

Posted in Edo, Fumi-e, Japanese Christians, Japanese prints, japanese woodblock prints, Liam Neeson, Martin Scorsese, Meiji Art, yoshitoshi | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Toshidama… A Print per Day – Kunichika

Posted on April 15, 2016 by

Toyohara Kunichika (1835-1900) Thirty-six Good and Evil Beauties: Jigoku Dayu (Hell Courtesan) This Kunichika print of Jigoku Dayu shows her wearing a robe depicting Enma, the Japanese God of the underworld. Enma is not only the ruler but also the … Continue reading →

Posted in Edo, Enma, Floating World, Hell Courtesan, Japanese Demon, japanese woodblock prints, Kunichika, Meiji Art, Toshidama Gallery., ukiyo-e art, utagawa, yoshitoshi | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Tale of the Tengu – Yoshitoshi’s Debt to Kuniyoshi

Posted on September 2, 2013 by

Toshidama Gallery are celebrating the work of Taiso Yoshitoshi (1839 – 1892) this month with a show of twenty-one of his woodblock prints. One of the best pieces in the exhibition is Ushiwaka Maru learns Martial Arts From Sojobo, King … Continue reading →

Posted in japanese woodblock prints, Kunisada, Kuniyoshi, Tengu, ukiyo-e art, Uncategorized, Ushiwaka Maru, Utagawa Yoshikazu, yoshitoshi | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Matoi – Fire Standards of Edo

Posted on July 22, 2013 by

Edo (sometimes called City of Fires), was perhaps the most fire prone city in the world; there is a saying, “Fires and quarrels are the flowers of Edo, yet the greater essence is the fireman”. There were over five hundred … Continue reading →

Posted in japanese woodblock prints, kabuki theatre, Kunichika, ukiyo-e art, Uncategorized, yoshitoshi | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Magic in Japan – The Body of the People

Posted on May 8, 2013 by

In this case not necessarily the physical body – I’m thinking here of the cultural body and how that relates to the people. When we look at the extraordinary corpus of Japanese woodblock prints from the nineteenth century we are … Continue reading →

Posted in ghosts, Japanese prints, japanese woodblock prints, kabuki theatre, Kuniyoshi, ukiyo-e art, Uncategorized, yoshitoshi | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment