88 - Kunitsuna: Sato Masakiyo Hunting the Magic Two-Tailed Tiger

Kunitsuna: Sato Masakiyo Hunting the Magic Two-Tailed Tiger

Not much is known about Utagawa Kunitsuna (1805-1868). Toyokuni was his teacher, but that is all I know. However, he was a good artist, as this triptych, Sato Masakiyo Hunting the Magic Two-Tailed Tiger, from 1860, clearly shows.

Sata Masakiyo's name in real life was Kato Kiyomasa. He was one of three generals who were sent by Hideyoshi to conquer Korea in 1592-1598, the so-called Imjin war. The campaign was brutal but ultimately unsuccessful. While being in Korea, however, Kiyomasa enjoyed a luxury Japan could not offer: tiger hunting.

The triptych can possibly have been created by Kunitsuna II (1829-1874). His style is so similar to Kunitsuna's that they are often confused with each other.

78 - Hirokage: Head of a Tiger Eating a Rooster

Hirokage: Head of a Tiger Eating a Rooster

The somewhat confusing title of this print is Head of a Tiger Eating a Rooster. It is from 1860 and the artist is Utagawa Hirokage, who was active between 1855 and 1865. He was one of Hiroshige's students.

Quite clearly, this is not a tiger, but a leopard. There are other ukiyo-e prints as well, depicting leopards, where they are also called tigers in the title. In Japan of that time, they obviously believed that leopards were female tigers.

29 - Kuniyoshi: Yôkyô (Yang Xiang)

 

Kuniyoshi: Yôkyô (Yang Xiang), 1848

The Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety is a book by Chinese scholar Guo Jujing, who wrote under the pseudonym Yizi. In Japan, they call him Kaku Kyokei. He lived during the Yuan dynasty in China (1260–1368).

It describes 24 cases of extreme filial loyalty, a subject that was a part of Confucian moral values.

Utagawa Kuniyoshi made several series of prints of “paragons of filial piety”. In 1848 came Morokoshi nijûshi-kô, [唐土廾四孝] - “The Twenty-four Chinese Paragons of Filial Piety, Part I”, from which this week's print is taken. It is called Yôkyô (in Chinese Yang Xiang). Yôkyô was a boy who jumped in front of his father to protect him from an attacking tiger. The tiger was scared by Yôkyô's unhesitating action and turned away. The print shows Yôkyô, his father, and the approaching tiger.

22 - Kyōsai: May (Shōki Riding a Tiger)

Kyōsai: May, (Shōki Riding a Tiger)

This is a triptych by Kawanabe Kyōsai (1831-1889), a skilled artist who considered himself the heir of Hokusai. He made woodblock prints and painted; in addition to that, he was the first political caricaturist in Japan, which caused him three jail sentences.

This triptych from 1887 is part of a series with the twelve months. It represents May, which is also written in English to the right.

Riding on a tiger is Shōki, the Demon Queller. He was a protector against demons and disease. Originally Chinese, as Chung Kwei, he was adopted by the Japanese during the 12th century. Shōki frequently appears as a motive in ukiyo-e.

On Boy's Day, in the 5th month, people used to hang pictures of Shōki, so Kyōsai let him represent May.

04 - Adachi Ginkô: Tiger in the Snow

Adachi Ginkô: Tiger in the Snow - 1896

Adachi Ginkô was active 1874-1897, which is after the peak of ukiyo-e. His art belongs to the Meiji period. This is commonly considered as a time of declining ukiyo-e before it disappeared entirely in the beginning of the 20th century. However, it is not justified to dismiss all art from this period as inferior. Several great artists were active during this time and although most of the works from the Meiji period cannot be considered as "classical" ukiyo-e, there are many great works of art among them.

Ukiyo-e was never static, but developed over time. Although its classical period was the Edo era, it continued to evolve far into the Meiji era. This is the nature of art and the way it develops. One style is not entirely replaced by another at an exact point of time. Eventually, gradual artistic and technical changes have reached so far that we give the art another name. But that borderline is never clear or sharp.

For this week I have chosen Ginkô's print Tiger in the Snow.