Antique Japanese Woodblock Print by Kunisada -Karigane Bunshichi- c.1850s
Presented is a beautiful Japanese full oban-size woodblock print created by the renowned artist of the late Edo period, Utagawa Kunisada (1786 - 1864), also known as Kunisada I and Toyokuni III. He was one of the most prominent artists and printmakers during the late Edo era (1600-1864) and the most productive of all ukiyo-e artists - he had created about 20,000 images, each of them printed in several hundred prints.
The print presented shows a man in a rich kimono, carrying a sword and a musical instrument called a Shakuhachi, a sort of Japanese flute. The title of the print is Karigane Bunshichi - that's a character in the Kabuki play "Sono Na Nomi Karigane zome". Most likely, this is actor Bando Mitsugoro VI playing the role of Karigane. I've seen a few more of the very similar portraits, and it looks like they're a series of Mitsugoro in different roles.
Kunisada I Utagawa was a prolific woodblock print artist mostly known for his pictures of beautiful women (bijinga) and kabuki actors' prints (yakusha-e). Born in Edo (today’s Tokyo), he became a pupil of Toyokuni I Utagawa (1769-1825) at the age of 15 and would later adopt his name in the traditional Japanese manner, becoming Toyokuni III and continuing the development of the Utagawa art school.
Kunisada’s pictures reflect Japan's culture in the years leading up to the country’s opening to the West. His first book illustrations were published in 1807, and his first actor portrait the following year. Amidst his extensive, popular output, yakusha-e was his preferred genre. As he painted a large number of these, continuing the stout realism of his teacher, he acquired the nickname ‘Yakusha-e no Kunisada’ – Kunisada, the actor painter. In his numerous bijinga, he clung to the ideal of beauty prevalent at the time. Most of the women portrayed were courtesans from Yoshiwara, the city's regulated red-light district.
Many museums in the world have Kunisada works:
British Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art in NY
Museum of Fine Arts in Boston
Tokyo National Museum
Museum of Fine Arts in Houston
Honolulu Museum of Art
and many others
Copies of this particular print are held in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) and the Waseda University Museum in Tokyo.
The print was made using the Japanese woodblock technique during Kunisada's lifetime. Signed with artist's signature "Kunisada ga". Stamped with the publisher's seal of Tsutaya Kichizo, used from 1841 to 1870
AUTHOR: Utagawa Kunisada I (Toyokuni III)
TITLE: Karigane Bunshichi
PUBLISHER: Tsutaya Kichizo
CREATED: c.1850s
PAPER: washi paper
METHOD OF PRINTING: Woodblock printing
PRINTED: Lifetime printing circa 1850s
OVERALL SIZE: Full oban size 14" X 9"
The condition is very good. Good detail and colors, some toning and staining of the paper. Minor pinhoes. Margins are trimmed. Please see the pictures for details on the condition. No backing - the paper is fragile, be very careful!
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