52 - Kunisada: Yakusha-e from the Kawarazaki Theatre 1852

Kunisada: Yakusha-e from 1852

This is a yakusha-e by Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865), Actors Ichikawa Danjûrô VIII as Nuregami Chôgorô (right), Ichikawa Saruzô I as Yamasaki Yogorô, Iwai Kumesaburô III as Azuma of the Fujiya (center), and Arashi Rikan III as Hanaregoma Chôkichi (left). It shows scenes from the plays Imoseyama Onna Teikin and Futatsu Chôchô Kuruwa Nikki, at Kawarazaki Theatre in 1852.

Kunisada, sometimes called Toyokuni III, was the superstar of his time, the ukiyo-e artist who had the greatest commercial success during his own lifetime. He was more famous in Japan of his time than Hokusai or Hiroshige.

51 - Hiroshige II: Kinryuzan Temple in Asakusa

Hiroshige II: Kinryuzan Temple in Asakusa

Utagawa Hiroshige II (1826-1868), originally Shinpei Suzuki, was a student of Hiroshige I, the "great" Hiroshige. He married the latter's daughter and when Hiroshige I died, Shinpei Suzuki took his teacher's name. He continued to work in the classical Hiroshige style, and his works are confusingly similar to those of Hiroshige I.

The print above is from the middle of the 19th century: Kinryuzan Temple in Asakusa, from the series Famous Places in the Eastern Capital.

This is an aizuri-e, a print primarily in blue.

50 - Harunobu: Bijinga

Harunobu: Bijinga

Undoubtedly, Harunobu was one of the earliest, greatest, and most innovative of the ukiyo-e masters. In his best works, primarily bijinga, the female figures possess an elegance few other artists have been able to achieve.

Here he displays a bijin sitting on the back of an ox. A peculiar and precarious position, yet the figure has not lost anything of its gracefulness.

49 - Hokkei: Urashima Tarō Going Home on the Back of a Tai Fish

Hokkei: Urashima Tarō Going Home on the Back of a Tai Fish

This is a surimono by Totoya Hokkei, showing Urashima Tarō Going Home on the Back of a Tai Fish - the Emperor of the Sea Seeing Him Off.

Urashima Tarō is a figure in a Japanese legend. He saves a turtle, which shows to be the daughter of the Emperor of the Sea, Ryūjin. The Emperor wants to thank him, so he is taken to the Palace of the Dragon God at the bottom of the sea, where he meets the Emperor and his daughter, now the princess Otohime. When he is permitted to return home to see his aged mother, 300 years have passed - and when he opens a box Otohime gave him but forbade him to open, he suddenly ages. The box contained "his old age".

There are several different versions of the tale.

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.