76 - Eishô: Motozue of the Daimonjiya

Eishô: Motozue of the Daimonjiya

This is an okubi-e by Chôkôsai Eishô (active approximately 1780-1800) - Motozue of the Daimonjiya, from the series Contest of Beauties of the Pleasure Quarters (Kakuchû bijin kurabe), from 1795-1797.

Eishô created several beautiful bijinga in the form of okubi-e. This picture, a portrait of a courtesan, is made extra interesting by the addition of a cat as a contrast to the face.

75 - Chōshun: Beauty in the Snow

Chōshun: Beauty in the Snow

Miyagawa Chōshun (1683-1753) founded the Miyagawa school. He and his students did not create woodblock prints; they exclusively painted.

This painting is Beauty in the Snow. The composition is typical for certain forms of East Asian art, where emptiness is used as an active element of the composition.

74 - Toshinobu II: Nitta no Shiro Tadatsune faces the Goddess of Mount Fuji and her dragon

Toshinobu II: Nitta no Shiro Tadatsune faces the Goddess of Mount Fuji and her dragon

This is a triptych by Toshinobu II, which shows Nitta no Shiro Tadatsune facing the Goddess of Mount Fuji and her dragon in a cave on Mt. Fuji. Tadatsune’s followers were afraid to enter the cave but Nitta no Shiro took a torch and entered. The Goddess congratulates him on his bravery.

Shirai Toshinobu (1866-1903) was a student of Yoshitoshi, who gave him the name Toshinobu.

This is a very beautiful print, although one can claim that the depicted animal is not a dragon but a serpent. In art, however, the borderline between the two is vague. Otherwise, strictly, a dragon has limbs, a serpent does not.

The name “Toshinobu” causes some confusion as to whom it really refers, because Yoshitoshi had three students using that name, and two of them signed with the same kanji characters [年信]. I believe, however, that here we have a triptych by Shirai Toshinobu, who is sometimes called Yamazaki Toshinobu II.

73 - Kyōsai: Title Unknown

Kyōsai: Title Unknown

I have not been able to find any title to this print by Kawanabe Kyōsai, so we leave it at that just to enjoy its graphic power. The colours and the composition are very effective and somehow the image looks very "modern".

72 - Hiroshige: Scorpionfish, Isaki, and Ginger

Hiroshige: Scorpionfish, Isaki, and Ginger

Hiroshige is best known for his landscapes, but he also made exquisite kachô-e. Mainly flowers and birds, but also fish. Here we have Scorpionfish, Isaki, and Ginger, from an untitled series known as Large Fish. It can be dated to 1832-1835.

71 - Sadamasu: Kataoka Ichizo as Mitsuhide Akechi

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Sadamasu: Kataoka Ichizo as Mitsuhide Akechi

Utagawa Kunimasu, sometimes called Sadamasu, was active about 1830-1854. Besides the probability of his having studied under Kunisada, very little is known about him.

The print is Kataoka Ichizo as Mitsuhide Akechi, from about 1841, a yakusha-e of a sort that is called okubi-e. That is when the picture mainly shows the head, but no complete body.

70 - Shungyō: Hōsō taiji no zu

Shungyō: Hōsō taiji no zu

This is a smallpox print. The red colour protects against smallpox, according to traditional Japanese lore. Its name is Hōsō taiji no zu. I have not been able to conclusively date this print.

There are sources dating it to the late 19th century. But Shungyō was active 1780-1840, so either the dating is wrong or it is from a different artist.