UTAGAWA KUNIYOSHI (1798-1861)

UTAGAWA KUNIYOSHI (1798-1861)
HIGO NO KUNI MIZUMATA NO KAIJO NI TE TAMETOMO NANPU NI AU (ON THE SEA AT MIZUMATA IN HOGO PROVINCE, TAMETOMO ENCOUNTERS A STORM)
EDO PERIOD, 19TH CENTURY

A Japanese woodblock print triptych, signed Ichiyūsai Kuniyoshi ga (L), Chōōrō Kuniyoshi ga (C), Kuniyoshi ga (R), with censor's seal kiwame, published by Fujiokaya Hikotarō c.1836, oban tate-e, (L) 36.5cm x 24.6cm, (C) 36.4cm x 24.8cm, (R) 36.3cm x 25cm. (3)

See the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, access. no.11.16461a-c for another example of this triptych.

Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1798-1861) was born in Edo (Tokyo) and demonstrated his talent as an artist at a young age, becoming the pupil of Toyokuni I at 14. Two years later, he left his mentor's studio to become an independent ukiyo-e artist. His first success came in 1827 with the series Tsūzoku Suikoden gōketsu hyakuhachinin no hitori (The 108 Heroes of the Suikoden), which established him as a master, excelling at portraits of famous samurai and legendary heroes. The public was hungry for depictions of fearsome figures and fantastical stories, and Kuniyoshi’s fertile imagination provided them with those striking images in large numbers.

This triptych demonstrates three of Kuniyoshi’s obsessions: portraying a fearless hero, fighting against nature, and supernatural forces. The scene is full of movement, chaotic and fantastical, and is one of his most dynamic compositions.