13 - Sharaku: Actor Nakayama Tomisaburô, also called Ômiya Kinsha, as Ohisa

Sharaku: Actor Nakayama Tomisaburô, also called Ômiya Kinsha, as Ohide

This is a masterwork by one of the most eccentric artists of ukiyo-e, Tōshūsai Sharaku. Nobody knows who he was, and his career spanned only 10 months in 1794 and 1795. During that short period of time he presented about 150 prints in a unique style, almost exclusively yakusha-e, portraits of kabuki actors. His works are almost ugly, but the strength and powerful expression, and the characterisation of actor and role, reveals true genius.

"Actor Nakayama Tomisaburô, also called Ômiya Kinsha, as Ohisa", is a print from 1794. This is a man playing a woman, which is clearly visible from the facial features. The face is male. Women were forbidden to play in kabuki so all female roles were played by male actors. Such an actor, playing women, was called an Onnagata.

12 - Hiroshige II: Iwatake gathering at Kumano in Kishu

Hiroshige II: Iwatake gathering at Kumano in Kishu - approx. 1860

Iwatake is a delicacy in Japan. Its name in Latin is Umbilicaria esculenta. In East Asia it is used as food, and in Traditional Chinese Medicine, TCM, as a medicine. Called iwatake in Japan, it is called shi'er in China, and seogi in Korea. Iwatake means "rock mushroom".

To harvest it, collectors are lowered down a cliff, preferably in wet weather. This is very dangerous. There is a saying in Japan: "Never give lodging to an iwatake collector, he doesn't always survive to pay the rent." Otherwise the iwatake has a reputation of providing longevity.

This woodblock print by Utagawa Hiroshige II (1826-1868), a student of the great Hiroshige, shows iwatake collectors in action. Its title is "Kishū kumano iwatake tori (Iwatake gathering at Kumano in Kishu)", and it dates around 1860.

11 - Keisei: Benzaiten Seated on a White Dragon

Keisei: Benzaiten Seated on a White Dragon - 1832-1833

Aoigaoka Keisei was active during the 1820s and 1830s. He was Hokkei's student, possibly also Hokusai's, and his prints, mainly surimono and book illustrations, are of a very high technical standard.

This print is named "Benzaiten sitting on a White Dragon". It is also called "The Goddess Benzaiten Appears to Hôjô Tokimasa at Enoshima". But that title is misleading, unless one sees the whole vertical diptych, of which this is the top print. The bottom print is missing here.

Benzaiten is a Japanese Buddhist goddess of everything that flows: water, words, music, time, and knowledge - and she is one of the Seven Gods of Good Fortune. She is also considered a Shinto kami and a protector deity of Japan, and she is associated with dragons. Her origin can be traced back to the Hindu goddess Saraswati.

The musical instrument she holds is a biwa, a traditional Japanese lute.

10 - Utamaro: Three Beauties of the Present Day

Utamaro: Three Beauties of the Present Day - 1793

Kitagawa Utamaro (1753-1806) is one of the most influential ukiyo-e artists, and one of the few who became famous beyond Japan. He is best known for his bijinga, pictures of beautiful girls, one of the major sub-genres of ukiyo-e. 

Utamaro introduced a certain realism of the faces, which had so far been idealised and stereotyped. This print, "Three Beauties of the Present Day" [Tōji San Bijin], from 1793, shows a triangular composition of three girls in the style of okubi-e (large head). Okubi-e had so far been yakusha-e, portraits of kabuki actors, but Utamaro applied it in bijinga.

The heads seem alike, but on a closer look, there are subtle differences which make them individual. In fact, the girls are the geisha Tomimoto Toyohina (top), and the two waitresses Takashima Hisa (left) and Naniwa Kita (right), who figure on many prints by Utamaro and others.

It has sometimes been claimed that this picture was the first (or one of the first) bijinga with girls who were not courtesans. That is not true - it was already started by Harunobu, who sometimes made bijinga with beauties from everyday life.