Kōkei Tsuruya (弦屋 光渓, Tsuruya Kōkei, born July 1946 in Chigasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture) is a contemporary Japanese…Kōkei Tsuruya (弦屋 光渓, Tsuruya Kōkei, born July 1946 in Chigasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture) is a contemporary Japanese woodblock print artist, best known for his Kabuki actor portraits. In 1985, art dealer Robert Sawers referred to him as a modern-day Sharaku because of the expressive quality of his actor prints.
Shinsui Itō (Japanese: 伊東 深水, romanized: Itō Shinsui; 4 February 1898 – 8 May 1972) was the pseudonym of a Nihonga…Shinsui Itō (Japanese: 伊東 深水, romanized: Itō Shinsui; 4 February 1898 – 8 May 1972) was the pseudonym of a Nihonga painter and ukiyo-e woodblock print artist in Taishō- and Shōwa-period Japan. He was one of the great names of the shin-hanga art movement, which revitalized the traditional art after it began to decline with the advent of photography in the early 20th century. His real name was Itō Hajime (Japanese: 伊東 一).
Shunsen Natori (名取春仙, Natori Shunsen; February 7, 1886 – March 30, 1960) was a Japanese woodblock printer, considered…Shunsen Natori (名取春仙, Natori Shunsen; February 7, 1886 – March 30, 1960) was a Japanese woodblock printer, considered by many to be the last master in the art of kabuki yakusha-e "actor pictures".
Kiyokata Kaburaki (鏑木 清方, Kaburaki Kiyokata; August 31, 1878 – March 2, 1972) was the art-name of a Nihonga artist and…Kiyokata Kaburaki (鏑木 清方, Kaburaki Kiyokata; August 31, 1878 – March 2, 1972) was the art-name of a Nihonga artist and the leading master of the bijin-ga genre in the Taishō and Shōwa eras. His legal name was Kaburaki Ken'ichi. The artist himself used the reading "Kaburaki", but many Western (and some Japanese) sources transliterate it as "Kaburagi".
Otake Chikuha (尾竹 竹坡; January 11, 1878 – June 2, 1936) was a Japanese painter. He was first known for his nihonga and…Otake Chikuha (尾竹 竹坡; January 11, 1878 – June 2, 1936) was a Japanese painter. He was first known for his nihonga and ukiyo-e paintings. Although he was a praised figure at the height of his career, he later lost his reputation. He moved onto experimenting with more ambitious styles motivated by his anti-mainstream sentiments.
Ogata Gekkō (尾形月耕; 1859 – 1 October 1920) was a Japanese artist best known as a painter and a designer of ukiyo-e…Ogata Gekkō (尾形月耕; 1859 – 1 October 1920) was a Japanese artist best known as a painter and a designer of ukiyo-e woodblock prints. He was self-taught in art, won numerous national and international prizes, and was one of the earliest Japanese artists to win an international audience.
Kobayashi Kiyochika (小林 清親; 10 September 1847 – 28 November 1915) was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist, best known for his…Kobayashi Kiyochika (小林 清親; 10 September 1847 – 28 November 1915) was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist, best known for his colour woodblock prints and newspaper illustrations. His work documents the rapid modernization and Westernization Japan underwent during the Meiji period (1868–1912) and employs a sense of light and shade called kōsen-ga inspired by Western art techniques. His work first found an audience in the 1870s with prints of red-brick buildings and trains that had proliferated after the Meiji Restoration; his prints of the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894–95 were also popular. Woodblock printing fell out of favour during this period, and many collectors consider Kobayashi's work the last significant example of ukiyo-e.
Kawanabe Kyōsai (河鍋 暁斎; May 18, 1831 – April 26, 1889) was a Japanese painter and caricaturist. In the words of art…Kawanabe Kyōsai (河鍋 暁斎; May 18, 1831 – April 26, 1889) was a Japanese painter and caricaturist. In the words of art historian Timothy Clark, "an individualist and an independent, perhaps the last virtuoso in traditional Japanese painting".
Santō Kyōden (山東 京伝; Japanese pronunciation: [san.toː (|) kʲo(ꜜ)ː.deɴ], 13 September 1761 Edo – 27 October 1816) was a…Santō Kyōden (山東 京伝; Japanese pronunciation: [san.toː (|) kʲo(ꜜ)ː.deɴ], 13 September 1761 Edo – 27 October 1816) was a Japanese artist, writer, and the owner of a tobacco shop during the Edo period. His real name was Iwase Samuru (岩瀬 醒), and he was also known popularly as Kyōya Denzō (京屋 伝蔵). He began his professional career illustrating the works of others before writing his own Kibyōshi and Sharebon, which marked his importance in the history of manga. Within his works, Kyōden often included references to his shop to increase sales. Kyōden's works were affected by the shifting publication laws of the Kansei Reforms, which aimed to punish writers and their publishers for writings related to the Yoshiwara and other things that were deemed to be "harmful to society" at the time by the Tokugawa Bakufu. As a result of his punishment in 1791, Kyōden shifted his writings to the more didactic Yomihon. During the 1790s, Santō Kyōden became a household name, and one of his works could sell as many as 10,000 copies, numbers that were previously unheard of for the time.
Kitagawa Utamaro (喜多川 歌麿; Japanese pronunciation: [ɯ.ta.ma.ɾo], c. 1753 – 31 October 1806) was a Japanese artist. He is…Kitagawa Utamaro (喜多川 歌麿; Japanese pronunciation: [ɯ.ta.ma.ɾo], c. 1753 – 31 October 1806) was a Japanese artist. He is one of the most highly regarded designers of ukiyo-e woodblock prints and paintings, and is best known for his bijin ōkubi-e "large-headed pictures of beautiful women" of the 1790s. He also produced nature studies, particularly illustrated books of insects. Little is known of Utamaro's life. His work began to appear in the 1770s, and he rose to prominence in the early 1790s with his portraits of beauties with exaggerated, elongated features. He produced over 2000 known prints and was one of the few ukiyo-e artists to achieve fame throughout Japan in his lifetime. In 1804 he was arrested and manacled for fifty days for making illegal prints depicting the 16th-century military ruler Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and died two years later. Utamaro's work reached Europe in the mid-nineteenth century, where it was very popular, enjoying particular acclaim in France. He influenced the European Impressionists, particularly with his use of partial views and his emphasis on light and shade, which they imitated. The reference to the "Japanese influence" among these artists often refers to the work of Utamaro.