46 - Eizan: Geisha Playing the Hand-Game Kitsune-ken

Eizan: Geisha Playing the Hand-Game Kitsune-ken

Kikugawa Eizan (1787-1867) studied under Utamaro and in certain circles he is seen as a plagiarist of his master with little originality of his own. This is not true. Although Eizan builds on Utamaro's style, he developed it further. With him, classical bijinga reaches its peak and its end; what's coming after him introduces new artistic elements, alien to original ukiyo-e.

The picture is a triptych, Geisha Playing the Hand-Game Kitsune-ken, from about 1820.

Kitsune-ken is a game similar to rock-paper-scissors. From left to right we see Village head [庄屋 shōya], which wins over the Hunter; Fox [狐 kitsune], which wins over the Village Head; and Hunter [猟師 ryōshi], which wins over the Fox.

45 - Sekien: Tengu

Sekien: Tengu

Toriyama Sekien (1712-1788) was a specialist in folklore and initially a painter of the Kanō school. He also created woodcut art. His most famous work is the cataloguing of yōkai, folkloristic, supernatural figures, which was published in four e-hon series, Hyakki Yagyō.

The Illustrated Night Parade of A Hundred Demons (1776)
The Illustrated One Hundred Demons from the Present and the Past (1779)
Supplement to The Hundred Demons from the Present and the Past (1780)
The Illustrated Bag of One Hundred Random Demons (1784)

The print this week is Tengu, from Hyakki Yagyō, 1776.

44 - Toyokuni I: A picnic party among blossoming plum trees

Toyokuni I: A picnic party among blossoming plum trees

This is A picnic party among blossoming plum trees, a triptych by Toyokuni I (1769-1825).

Blossoming trees are important in Japanese aesthetics. Cherry blossoms, sakura, are most highly venerated, followed by peach and plum tree blossoms - all of them common motives in Japanese art.

43 - Yoshiiku: Hyakumonogatari Ameonna

Yoshiiku: Hyakumonogatari Ameonna

Utagawa Yoshiiku (1833-1904), also known as Ochiai Yoshiiku, was one of Kuniyoshi's many students. He made portraits, bijinga, musha-e and satire. Yoshiiku also created newspaper illustrations and was a co-founder of the newspaper Tokyo E-iri Shinbun (folded in 1889).

In co-operation with Yoshitoshi, Yoshiiku also created the series  Eimei nijūhasshūku - Twenty-eight famous murders, which officially started the subgenre of ukiyo-e that is called muzan-e.

The print this week is Hyakumonogatari Ameonna (a female rain spirit), from 1890.

42 - Gekkō: Monkey and the Moon Reflection

Gekkō: Monkey and the Moon Reflection

Monkey and the Moon Reflection by Ogata Gekkō is a masterpiece in its simplicity. With very subtle means, Gekkō expresses the whole character of a playing monkey. The picture is from about 1895.

41 - Sadanobu II: Bijinga

Sadanobu II: Bijinga

This bijinga is a painting by Hasegawa Sadanobu II (active between 1867 and the 1880s). It is signed “Ho Utamaro Sadanobu”, which means “Sadanobu imitating Utamaro”. That probably refers to the style. The painting is unusual and beautiful.

40 - Hiroshige: Shōno

Hiroshige: Shōno

This print by Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858) shows Shōno, the 45th station of the Tōkaidō. A scene where passengers are surprised by rain.

Tōkaidō, along which Hiroshige had the opportunity to travel in 1832, was the road connecting the capital of the Shogun, Edo, with the capital of the Emperor, Kyoto.

The stations were post stations, and travellers had to have an official permit in order to cross a station. Travelling freely was not permitted in old Japan. Hiroshige's trip, however, resulted in the famous series The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō, 1833-1834, from which Shōno is taken. The series is Hiroshige's best known work and one of the most famous works of ukiyo-e.

See also:
Hiroshige: Kanbara