20 - Gakutei: Moonlit Night at Suehiro Bridge

Gakutei: Moonlit Night at Suehiro Bridge

Yashima Gakutei (1786–1868) studied under both Hokusai and Totoya Hokkei. He was a poet as well as an artist.

His prints are technically advanced, although he made mainly surimono and book illustrations. His landscapes and seascapes are of a very high quality.

This week's picture is "Moonlit Night at Suehiro Bridge", in the series: Famous Places of Naniwa (Osaka), Views of Tempozan at a Glance (Tempozan Suehiro Bashi - Tsukiyo no Zu) from the 1830s (probably 1834). The style is noticeably influenced by Hokusai.

This was the northern entry into the system of channels covering the land of Tempozan, in Osaka. 

19 - Utamaro: Scops Owl and Bullfinches

Utamaro: Scops Owl and Bullfinches

Momo chidori kyôka awase [One Hundred Birds in a Competition of Humorous Poetry] from about 1790, sometimes considered the epitome of kachô-e, is an album by Kitagawa Utamaro (1753-1806). In my opinion, there are more beautiful examples of kachô-e, but Utamaro's studies of birds are exquisite. 

The album was published by Tsutaya Juzaburo (1748-1797) as one of his anthologies of kyōka, a form of comic verse. His friend Utamaro illustrated several of those anthologies. Momo chidori kyôka awase is the most famous result of their co-operation.

The picture I have chosen from the album is Scops Owl (Mimizuku) and Bullfinches (Uso).

Kachô-e (also called kachô-ga) is a sub-genre of ukiyo-e. Strictly, it is defined as “studies of flowers and birds”, but while many artists limited themselves to flowers and birds, others went beyond that to other plants and animals. In a broader sense we can say that kachô-e is about studies of plants and animals in general.

18 - Kôkan: Girl on a veranda

Kôkan: Girl on a veranda

Shiba Kôkan (1747-1818), or Suzuki Harushige, was a very skilled artist who worked with a large number of styles and techniques. One of his specialities were woodblock prints in Harunobu's style. He even signed some of them with Harunobu's name. Today we would call that forgery.

This print is “Girl on a veranda” by Kôkan - falsely signed “Harunobu”. Note that Kôkan imitated Harunobu's style, but made his own picture.

17 - Nobukazu: Love Of Fireflies

Nobukazu: Love Of Fireflies - 1896

Watanabe Nobukazu (1872?-1944), a student of Yōshū Chikanobu, made pictures ranging from traditional ukiyo-e, such as bijinga, to pictures of Tokyo on the verge of modernisation, or war scenes from the wars with China or Russia. He is one of the very last ukiyo-e artists.

This is a bijinga by Nobukazu: “Love Of Fireflies” from 1896.  It is not a woodblock print but a lithograph.

16 - Kunihiro: Actor Onoe Tamizo as Tenjiku Tokubei Performing Toad Magic

Kunihiro: Actor Onoe Tamizo as Tenjiku Tokubei Performing Toad Magic - 1832

This is "Actor Onoe Tamizo as Tenjiku Tokubei Performing Toad Magic", a woodblock print by Utagawa Kunihiro. It is a yakusha-e from the kabuki play "Otonikiku ikoku no irifune". The print is from 1832.

Utagawa Kunihiro was active 1815-1841/1843, and belonged to the Osaka school.

15 - Gekkō: The Plum Blossoms of Kameido

Gekkō: The Plum Blossoms of Kameido
From the Series Famous Views of Flowers and Beautiful Women
1895

This is a triptych - three prints put together to create one larger picture - "The Plum Blossoms of Kameido" by Ogata Gekkō (1859-1920). The picture is from the series "Famous Views of Flowers and Beautiful Women", 1895.

Ogata Gekkō understood himself as part of the tradition of ukiyo-e, but he was very versatile and also experimented with techniques and styles not normally included in that tradition - for example lithography. He is widely underestimated, but I perceive him as one of the greatest Japanese artists of his generation.

14 - Chikanobu: Tour by boat - Okawa-river

Chikanobu: Tour by boat - Okawa-river

Toyohara Chikanobu (1838–1912), sometimes called Yōshū Chikanobu, had a number of illustrious teachers. First Keisai Eisen, and later Kuniyoshi and Kunisada.

"Tour by boat, Okawa River", a woodblock print from 1897, is sometimes seen with other titles: "Nobleman Boatings" or "Tokugawa Shogun at Okawasuji". This triptych is taken from the series Official Ceremonies at Chiyoda Palace.

The print is from the Meiji period and belongs to the informational prints which were so typical for that period. Many depictions of war or officialdom served as newspaper illustrations and were made for educational rather than artistic purposes. Photography gradually came to replace them.