Utagawa Kunisada (aka Toyokuni III)
Japanese (1786 – 1865) Primary

Shiragiku-hime, from the Series Biographies of Famous Women, Ancient and Modern (Kokin meifu den) 「古今名婦伝　白菊姫」

Edo
1864

Sheet
14 1/4 x 9 3/4 in. (36.195 x 24.765 cm)

This object has the following keywords:

• Edo - Refers to the period and style that developed from the unification of Japan in 1600 until the end of the shogunal dynasty in 1868. During this period, economic expansion encouraged the rise of an educated merchant class who created their own forms of literature and theater as well as new schools of painting and woodblock printing. A wide diversity of pictorial subjects and styles developed during this period and many 19th century Western artists were influenced by them.
• kimonos - Loose, wide-sleeved garments fastened around the waist with an obi or broad sash, traditionally worn by Japanese men and women.
• nishiki-e - Japanese prints in which numerous blocks are used to print many colors.
• oban - Japanese prints of a standard size about 15 3/4 by 10 1/2 inches.
• Ukiyo-e - Distinctive genre in painting and other media, but most prominently in woodblock printing. It arose in the Edo period (1600-1868) and built up a broad popular market among the middle classes. Subject matter typically focused on brothel districts and kabuki theatres, with formats ranging from single sheet prints to book illustrations. Generally, the style is characterized by a mixture of the realistic narrative of the Kamakura period and the mature decorative style of the Momoyama and Edo periods. Distinctive styles and specialties in subject matter were developed by different schools throughout the period.
• Utagawa, Kunisada, 1786-1864 - Sources:
  - His Kunisada, 1966.
  - Kunisada, 1993:
  - Mirror of the stage, 1996:
  - Hayashi, Y. Utagawa Kunisada
  - JapanKnowledge Lib, May 9, 2017
  - Shinpan kabuki jiten/JapanKnowledge Lib, viewed May 9, 2017
  - Web NDL authorities, May 9, 2017
  - LC database, May 9, 2017
• woodcuts - Prints made using the process of woodcut, which is a relief process in which the design is cut into and printed from the plank side of a wood block; distinct from "wood engraving (process)," which is a relief process using the grain end of a wood block.