• Highlights
• Works
• Event

Highlights

1. Handsome men, villains, and men and boys of great stature!
――A grand assemblage of captivating heroes by the warrior print master Kuniyoshi Great advances were made with warrior prints thanks to Kuniyoshi, such as his dynamic compositions that made full use of large-canvas triptych formats and his descriptive power that captured the decisive moment of the story. The popularity achieved resembles that of modern-day manga and anime. The show presents numerous warrior prints, which became a byword for Kuniyoshi, from the series Tsuzoku Suikoden Goketsu Hyakuhachinin no Hitori (One of the 108 heroes of the popular Water Margin) that won him distinction to works from his final years such as the large hexaptych The Battle at Shijō-nawate (Last stand of the Kusunoki at Shijo Nawate), which is only shown in the first half of the exhibition.

2. Skillful humor that excited Edo
――Witty caricatures that evaded the Shogunate's banFunny caricature concealing satire was another genre Kuniyoshi excelled at. He created many caricature prints by various different means, anthropomorphizing cats, goldfish, birds, and even implements and toys, imbuing works with double meanings, and playing with words. The humor and satire of caricatures allowed him to make it through difficult times when depictions of actors and courtesans were banned in 1842.

3. A newly discovered artwork depicting a cat
――Kuniyoshi's cats were the creation of a cat lover, and demonstrated his keen eyeKuniyoshi was a great lover of cats, so much so that he is said to have tucked a kitten into the top of his kimono to pet while working. Impersonating popular actors or portraying patrons of the pleasure quarters, Kuniyoshi's cats appeared on the scene in a way that transcended caricature, warrior prints, and pictures of beautiful women, playing such a good role as to steal the show from human protagonists. The newly discovered artwork Ryuko Neko no Henka (The different guises of the fashionable cat) will be on display throughout the exhibition period.

Works

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  In the Ruined Palace at Sōma
  c. 1845 – 46

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  The Story of Nippon Daemon and the Cat
  1847

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  He looks Scary but He Is a Nice Person
  c. 1847

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  Beauty Playing with a Cat, from the series Mirror Images
  c. 1845

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  Fashionable Cat Transformations
  c. 1841 – 42

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  The Night Attack, Act XI of the Storehouse of Loyal Retainers
  c. 1831 – 32

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  Sakata Kaidōmaru
  c. 1836

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  Singing the Bonbon Song for the Obon Festival, from the series A Set of Goldfish
  c. 1842

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  Courtesan Procession
  c. 1844 – 54

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  Battle on Mount Yoshino
  c. 1851

＊All works are private collection