Animals and Plants,
Part I
|
The
words kachô-e (花鳥絵) and kachô-ga (花鳥画) are usually translated as “pictures of birds and flowers”, but they
may also be used to describe the broader category of nature prints. A few additional examples of Kuniyoshi’s kachô-e may be found in the sections on surimono of miscellaneous subjects and fan
prints of humorous and miscellaneous subjects. |
|
|
Series: Untitled
series of water creatures Robinson: Not listed Title: None Size: Chûtanzakuban
(about 14 by 5 inches or 36 by 13 centimeters) Description: Turtle and
crab on a ledge underwater Date: c. 1837 Publisher: Tsujioka-ya Bunsuke I am grateful to Robert Pryor for this image. |
|
|
This is another state of the above print. The coloring is different, and the seal of
the publisher, Tsujioka-ya Bunsuke, is no longer
present. It was pulled from the same
woodblocks as the above. |
|
|
This is a reproduction of the same print made by Robert O. Muller
in the 1930s. The woodblocks were
expertly reproduced, but a careful examination will reveal slight differences
in the black outlines and text. |
|
|
Series: Untitled
series of water creatures Robinson: Not listed Title: None Size: Chûtanzakuban
(about 14 by 5 inches or 36 by 13 centimeters) Description: Catfish and
trout Date: c. 1837 Publisher: Tsujioka-ya Bunsuke |
|
|
This is another state of the above print with a simplified
design. The woodblocks for printing
the waves and the yellow on the catfish were omitted. |
|
|
Series: Untitled
series of water creatures Robinson: Not listed Title: None Size: Chûtanzakuban
(about 14 by 5 inches or 36 by 13 centimeters) Description: Koi and wisteria Date: c. 1837 Publisher: Tsujioka-ya Bunsuke |
|
|
Series: Untitled
series of water creatures Robinson: Not listed Title: None Size: Chûtanzakuban
(about 14 by 5 inches or 36 by 13 centimeters) Description: Stingray and
puffer fish Date: c. 1837 Publisher: Tsujioka-ya Bunsuke |
|
|
Series: Untitled
series of water creatures Robinson: Not listed Title: None Size: Chûtanzakuban
(about 14 by 5 inches or 36 by 13 centimeters) Description: Goldfish and
killifish Date: c. 1837 Publisher: Tsujioka-ya Bunsuke |
|
|
Series: Untitled
series of water creatures Robinson: Not listed Title: None Size: Chûtanzakuban
(about 14 by 5 inches or 36 by 13 centimeters) Description: Black carp Date: c. 1837 Publisher: Tsujioka-ya Bunsuke I am grateful to Robert Pryor for this image. |
|
|
Another state of the above design |
|
|
An additional state with the seal of the publisher removed. It was printed from the same woodblocks as
the preceding images. |
|
|
Series: Untitled
series of water creatures Robinson: Not listed Title: None Size: Chûtanzakuban
(about 14 by 5 inches or 36 by 13 centimeters) Description: Octopus on a
rock amid crashing waves with two fish Date: c. 1837 Publisher: Tsujioka-ya Bunsuke |
|
|
Series: Untitled
series of water creatures Robinson: Not listed Title: None Size: Chûtanzakuban
(about 14 by 5 inches or 36 by 13 centimeters) Description: Silver carp
underwater by a wooden post with a floating peony Date: c. 1837 Publisher: Tsujioka-ya Bunsuke |
|
|
Series: Untitled
series of water creatures Robinson: Not listed Title: None Size: Chûtanzakuban
(about 14 by 5 inches or 36 by 13 centimeters) Description: Shrimp and
fish after bait on a fishing line Date: c. 1837 Publisher: Tsujioka-ya Bunsuke |
|
|
I am grateful to Robert Pryor for this alternate state of the
above design. |
|
|
Series: Untitled
series of water creatures Robinson: Not listed Title: None Size: Chûtanzakuban
(about 14 by 5 inches or 36 by 13 centimeters) Description: Sweetfish (ayu)
and bushclover Date: c. 1837 Publisher: Tsujioka-ya Bunsuke |
|
|
Series: None Title: None Size: Kakemono-e (a vertical diptych
approximately 28 by 10 inches or 72 by 25 centimeters) Description: A hawk in an
old pine tree Date: c. 1845 Publisher: Mura-ya Seijirô |
|
|
Series: None Title: None Size: Kakemono-e (a vertical diptych
approximately 28 by 10 inches or 72 by 25 centimeters) Description: Tiger walking
on a windy day Date: c.
1830s-1840s Publisher: No seal |
|
|
This state, which lacks the Toshidama
seal below Kuniyoshi’s signature, was probably printed after 1844. In 1844, Kunisada, a competitor of
Kuniyoshi, proclaimed himself the head of the Utagawa school, and adopted the
name Toyokuni, which was the name of the previous
leader of the school. Kuniyoshi
responded by severing his relationship with the school and stopped using the Toshidama seal, which was the schoolʼs
heraldic device. NOTE: In a later
edition of this design, the bamboo is omitted and the arcs representing wind
are different. I am grateful to Robert
Pryor for this image. |
|
|
Series: None Title: None Size: Kakemono-e (a vertical diptych approximately
28 by 10 inches or 72 by 25 centimeters)
Description: Dragon and
clouds Date: Publisher: Unidentified
seal |
|
|
Series: None Title: None Size: Kakemono-e (a vertical diptych
approximately 28 by 10 inches or 72 by 25 centimeters) Description: Carp
ascending a waterfall Date: Publisher: Maru-ya
Seijirô |
|
Title: None Size: Unknown Description: Bush warbler
or nightingale (uguisu, 鴬), swallow (tsubame, 燕), cuckoo (hototogisu,
子規), mountain
pheasant, pigeon, and cormorant with actors’ mon
on their bodies Date: c. 1848-1850 Publisher: Iba-ya Senzaburô I am grateful to Robert Pryor for this image. |
|
|
Title: Exhibition of
a Chrysanthemum with 100 Different Flowers (Hyakushu tsugi wake giku, 百種接分菊) Description: A large group of people is
admiring the colorful blossoms of a huge chrysanthemum tree grafted with many
different varieties Date: 9th
month of 1845 (censor Fukatsu Ihei) Publisher: Izuzen |
|
|
“Robinson” refers to listing of the series in Kuniyoshi by Basil William Robinson (Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1961).
|
