Japanese Woodblock Prints. Andreas Marks
of beauties, actors, flowers and birds, warriors, and erotica. His earliest known work is a 1701 published copy of Kiyonobu’s “Illustrated Book of Courtesans” (Keisei ehon) from 1700. By 1711, he had illustrated twenty-five books. In these early years he frequently used an elaborate signature calling himself “Yamato picture master” (Yamato eshi). In the late 1710s he started with the Okumuraya (firm name Kakujudō), his own book- and printshop located in Nihonbashi’s Tōrishiochō, which allowed him to experiment with new formats and techniques. Especially since 1724 he published many of his own prints. He developed a gourd-shaped (hyōtan) publisher seal as his trademark and praised his works by explicitly mentioning their quality and originality on the prints themselves.
Masanobu died in 1764, aged 79.
1743 “Perspective picture of a real play on stage” (Shibai kyōgen uki-e nemoto). 45 x 31.5 cm (17.7 x 12.4 in.). Publisher: Okumuraya. Asian Art Museum, National Museums in Berlin.
1730s “Set of Three, center—Moon of Musashi” (Musashi no tsuki, sanpukutsui—naka). Hosoban beni-e. Publisher: Okumuraya. Asian Art Museum, National Museums in Berlin.
c.1725 The actor Sanjō Kantarō II as s singer of popular songs in the Yoshiwara. Hosoban urushi-e. Publisher: Okumuraya. Asian Art Museum, National Museums in Berlin. Unlisted in Mutō 2005.
c.1720s/30s Two dancers playing shamisens entertaining a young man drinking sake. Hosoban urushi-e. Publisher: Okumuraya. Library of Congress.
Masanobu (attr.). c.1720s/30s An amorous advance. Hand-colored album leaf. Collection Peter Rieder.
Toshinobu
Act. c. 1718–49
Art surname: Okumura. Art names: Kakugetsudō, Bunzen.
Not many details are known about the life of Okumura Toshinobu. He was a pupil of Okumura Masanobu whose influence can be seen in Toshinobu’s designs. Apart from Masanobu’s own publishing house, the Okumuraya, Toshinobu worked for at least ten other publishers and became a prolific designer of beni-e (pink, hand colored pictures) and urushi-e (lacquer pictures). The beni-e series “Pastimes of the Four Seasons” (Shiki no asobi) that Toshinobu designed for the publisher ōmiya Kuhei dates from the 1730s. Many designs in horizontal format depict a scene either enclosed in a fan or in a stylized bean.
Toshinobu’s period of activity can only be roughly determined. His earliest designs date from 1718 and his last known work is a benizuri-e (two-color-printing) from 1742 showing the actor Sanogawa Mangiku (1690–1747) followed by the illustrations in the book “Getting Rid of Smallpox” (Hōsō-yoke) from 1749. Toshinobu specialized in pictures of beauties and actor prints in particular, concentrating on the soft acting style (wagoto) and love scenes.
c.1730 No. 1—Spring, from the series “Pleasures of the Four Seasons” (Shiki no asobi). Hosoban urushi-e. Publisher: ōmiya Kuhei. Collection Peter Rieder.
1724. The actors Ichimura Takenojō IV as Soga Gorō and Sakata Hangorō I as Kudō Suketsune in the play Yome iri Izu nikki, Ichimura Theater, I/1724. Hosoban urushi-e. Publisher: Izutsuya San’emon. National Museum of Ethnology, Leiden, The Netherlands. Mutō 2005, no. 1922.
1727 The actors Ogino Izaburō I as Sōshiya, Hayakawa Hatsuse I as Taishi, and Arashi Wakano I as Gyokuyō Fujin in an unidentified play. Hosoban urushi-e. Publisher: Iseya Kinbei. Asian Art Museum, National Museums in Berlin. Mutō 2005, no. 1950.
c.1720s/30s Three beauties from Kyoto (top), Edo (right), and Osaka (left). Hosoban beni-e. Publisher: Masuya. Collection Peter Rieder.
Shigenaga
1697?–1756
Art surname: Nishimura. Art names: Eikadō (until c.1730s), Senkadō (from c.1730s), Hyakuju.
Nishimura Shigenaga was born in Edo around 1697. He first lived in Tōriabura-chō but later moved to the Kanda district where he opened a bookshop. He was self-taught and not the student of a lineage of artists. His earliest work seems to have appeared in 1719 and he became a rival to the Okumura School. He sometimes imitated their style but was also influenced by Nishikawa Sukenobu (1671–1750) and Torii Kiyonobu I. Shigenaga did not focus on a specific genre but is known for a wide range of subjects including actors, classical literature, landscapes, and flowers and birds (kachō-e). His works were published in different formats like the narrow hosoban format, and produced as urushi-e (lacquer pictures), beni-e (pink, hand colored pictures), benizuri-e (two-color-printing), ishizuri-e (stone prints: woodblock prints with white outlines against a black background, resembling stone rubbings). The center figure is an example from an untitled series depicting the “Eight Views of Lake Ōmi” (Ōmi hakkei). Amongst his most famous works are the series “The Fifty-four Sheets of Genji” (Genji gojūyonmai no uchi) that he created together with Torii Kiyomasu II from c.1730–35, and the gazetteer “Picture Book of Edo Souvenirs” (Ehon Edo-miyage) from 1753.
He greatly influenced both Sukuki Harunobu and Ishikawa Toyonobu, who are sometimes seen as his students. His signature is occasionally preceded by the expressions “Yamato gakō” (Yamato painting artisan) or “Nihon gakō” (Japan painting artisan).
Some sources erronously suggest that he signed his works also as Nishimura Magosaburō, however it was Nishimura Shigenobu (act. c.1723–47) who used the name Magosaburō early in his career.
c.1720s/30s “Mapple leaves in fall” (Aki no momiji yakata fū). Hosoban urushi-e. Publisher: Maruya Kuzaemon. National Museum of Ethnology, Leiden, The Netherlands.
1720s “Sunset Glow at Seta” (Seta no sekishō), from an untitled series on the “Eight Views of Lake ōmi”. Hosoban urushi-e. Publisher: Emiya Kichiemon. Collection Peter Rieder.
c.1720s/30s. “Chin Nan” (Ch. Chen Nan) conjures a dragon out of a gourd causing a rainstorm. Hosoban beni-e. Publisher: Kinoshita Jin’emon. Asian Art Museum, National Museums in Berlin.
c.1720s/30s Flower vendor. Hosoban beni-e. Publisher: Igaya Kan’emon. Library of Congress.
1730s “In the fashion of a stylish priestess” (Imayō bikuni fū). Hosoban urushi-e. Publisher: Fujita Chōbei. Asian Art Museum, National Museums in Berlin.
Kiyomasu