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.

03 - Kuniyoshi: Kabuki Actor Ichikawa Kodanji IV as the Ghost of Asakura Tôgo

Kuniyoshi: Kabuki Actor Ichikawa Kodanji IV as the Ghost of Asakura Tôgo - 1851

This picture is from a Kabuki play by Segawa Jokô III, Higashiyama sakura sôshi [東山桜荘子], which was performed in the 8th lunar month of 1851 at Nakamuraza, an important theater in Edo.

It is a woodblock print, a yakusha-e, by Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797-1861) and depicts Ichikawa Kodanji IV playing the ghost of the crucified Asakura Tôgo, who seeks revenge on the lord who had him killed for protesting unreasonable taxation. 

Yakusha-e is the sub-genre of ukiyo-e which is dedicated to portraits of kabuki actors and to some extent kabuki scenes.

02 - Koryusai: Dragon

Isoda Koryusai: Dragon

Isoda Koryusai (1735-1790) was the artistic heir of Harunobu, although it is not known if he was ever Harunobus student. In my opinion, Koryusai is an underestimated artist. Harunobu, before him, and Kiyonaga, after him, tend to get most of the attention.

The Dragon above is not typical for Koryusai's art. Indeed, originally it is not his picture, but a copy he made of a painting by Ganki (a 14th century Zen painter), The text at the top states "Painted by Ganki". It is also signed "Hokyo Koryusai sha", which means "copied by Koryusai".

I have not seen Ganki's original painting, but I am fascinated by Koryusai's copy. This dragon, a creature of magic and legend, might very well be the one compelled by the Chinese Sennin Chennan (or Chinnan) to rise from the mud and open "the cataracts of heaven" over the village of Sogo, where people were praying for rain.

Koryusai is considered as the second master of nihiski-e, brocade prints, or full-colour prints, but the (almost) monochrome nature of this picture definitely adds to its fascination. Yet there is limited colour manually added on fangs and claws, although that is barely discernible.

01 - Harunobu: A girl on a veranda

Harunobu: Girl on a veranda

Suzuki Harunobu (1725-1770) was the first woodblock artist who made full-colour prints, so-called nishiki-e. That, in combination with other innovations in technique, format, material, and style, makes him one of the most important masters of ukiyo-e.

This woodblock print shows a bijin, a beautiful girl. It is the typically petite girl of Harunobu's art: a slender, elegant figure - almost a child. While many other ukiyo-e-artists paid an immense attention to the kimono and its pattern, these aspects play a relatively small role in Haronubu's bijinga. On the other hand, he was the first artist to make real backgrounds, an environment for his figures.