48 - Hokusai: Kanagawa oki nami ura - The Great Wave off Kanagawa

Hokusai: Kanagawa oki nami ura

In a selection of ukiyo-e, it is impossible not to include this print. It might very well be the most famous Japanese artwork ever. It is The Great Wave off Kanagawa, from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, by Katsushika Hokusai. The Japanese title of the print is - Kanagawa oki nami ura 神奈川沖浪裏 - and an alternative title in English, one that better resembles the Japanese original, is Under the Wave off Kanagawa.

The picture was originally published between 1826 and 1833.

47 - Hirosada: Nakayama Nanshi II as Umegae and Jitsukawa Enzaburô I as Kajiwara Genta

Hirosada: Nakayama Nanshi II as Umegae and Jitsukawa Enzaburô I as Kajiwara Genta

Here we have a yakusha-e by the technically and artistically skilled Hirosada. This is a portrait of two kabuki actors: Nakayama Nanshi II as Umegae and Jitsukawa Enzaburô I as Kajiwara Genta in the play Hiragana Seisuiki, performed at Naka Theatre in Osaka in the 8th month 1851.

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.