Posts by Richard Kruml:
Hishikawa SORI (Active 1797-1813)
Click here to view image full size.
An original painting, full colour on silk, 43.25 x 14 in; 109.8 x 35.6 cms. An early pupil of Hokusai (who gave him his name Hishikawa Sori in 1798, it previously being Tawaraya). Generally referred to as Sori III. Produced a considerable number of small surimono – some of which can be confused with Hokusai’s work. Shows a beauty with a monkey at her feet. There is a print closely following the painting published in 1906. Illustrated in Nihon ukiyoe hakubutsukan, ed., Nikuhitsu ukiyoe senshu gekan (Selected Painting of Ukiyo-e, second vol.) Tokyo: Gakushu kenkyusha, 1985, plate 193.
In very good condition. Signed Hyakurin Sori ga with seal Sori.
Status: Available
Mori SOSEN (1747-1821)
Click here to view image full size. A fine surimono-sized painting, light colour on silk, 7.75 x 7 in; 19.5 x 17.8 cms. Shows a female sika deer. His life is not well documented but he is known to have studied under the Kano artist Yamamoto Joshunsai (?-1781) before being drawn into Maruyama Okyo’s (1735-1795) […]
Suzuki HARUTSUGI (HARUJI) (Active 1760-1770)
Click here to view image full size. A large koban print, 8.75 x 6 in; 22.25 x 15.25 cms, showing a samurai with two attendants. Aki, “Autumn” from a set of the four seasons, Shiki. A rare artist and most likely a follower of Harunobu. Produced a number of pillar prints. Provenance: Ex Javal, sold […]
Utagawa KUNISADA (1786-1864)
Click here to view image full size. A fan print showing the actor Bando Shuka I as Shirai Gonpachi from a set Mitate gonin otoko, go-hiiki no omoizashi, “A Parody of the Five Chivalrous Commoners: A Cup of Sake From Their fans.” Omoizashi means to pour sake for one’s loved one and indicates the adoration […]
Katsushika HOKUSAI (1760-1849)
Click here to view image full size. A sheet of original studies, sumi on thin paper, 10.5 x 15 in; 26.6 x 38 cms. Of particular interest and importance is the self-portrait in the upper right, This is another version of the famous self-portrait at the age of 83 (1842) sent to his publisher. Illustrated […]
Utagawa KUNIYOSHI (1797-1861)
Click here to view image full size. A fine large original drawing, sumi on thin paper, 12 x 18.5 in; 30.4 x 47 cms. Shows battling women holding what appear to be wooden swords. Two seals at the bottom which appear to be the publisher Honmo who published 1855-56. Provenance: Ex collection Dr. Julius Kurth […]
Utagawa KUNIYOSHI (1797-1861)
Click here to view image full size. A fine large original drawing, sumi on thin paper, 12 x 18 in; 30.4 x 45,7 cms. Shows two awabi divers surrounded by crabs kneeling before a figure – possibly Empress Jingu – seated behind a dragon and surrounded by samurai. Provenance: Ex collection Dr. Julius Kurth (1870-1949), […]
Ichirakutei EISUI (Active 1790-1823)
Click here to view image full size. A fine okubi-e (“large head”) portrait of the courtesan Shizuka of the Tama-ya House. Eisui, like the other main pupils of Eishi, produced some of the finest bust-portraits in Ukiyo-e. Published by Maruya Bunemon c late 1790’s. Other impressions illustrated in Klaus J. Brandt, Hosoda Eishi, page 72, […]
Ichiryusai HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)
Click here to view image full size. Kai Otsuki no hara, “Otsuki [“Great Moon”] Plain in Kai Province.” The most popular print from Fuji sanjurokkei, “The Thirty-six Views of Fuji.”Published by Tsutaya Kichizo, 4/1858. A distant view of Fuji with a stream meandering amongst wild flowers. Some of them are from the Seven Herbs (Nanakusa) […]
Ichiryusai HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)
Click here to view image full size. Hara from The Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido published by Marusei, Maruya Seijiro, 1847-52. Called the Reisho Tokaido because of the angular style of Kanji used. Shows Fuji towering over the landscape with miniscule figures on the road at the bottom. One of the best designs from the […]
Ichiryusai HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)
Click here to view image full size. Fujieda from The Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido published by Marusei, Maruya Seijiro, 1847-52. Called the Reisho Tokaido because of the angular style of Kanji used. Travellers huddled against the rain on a narrow path. One of the best designs from the set. Fine impression and […]
Ichiryusai HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)
Click here to view image full size. Fuchu from The Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido published by Marusei, Maruya Seijiro, 1847-52. Called the Reisho Tokaido because of the angular style of Kanji used. Travellers coming and going at the entrance to the station. One of the best designs from the set. Provenance: Ex Hayashi collection […]
Ichiryusai HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)
Click here to view image full size. Wada from the Sixty-nine Stations f the Kisokaido. The set was started by Eisen and published by Hoeido in 1835, but in 1837 Hiroshige took over and completed the series with the publisher Iseiri (Kinjudo). Wada is the highest point on the Kisokaido and Hiroshige shows travellers traversing […]
Utagawa KUNIYOSHI (1797-1861)
Click here to view image full size. A poem by the celebrated poet Minamoto no Shigeyuki from the series Hyakunin isshu no uchi, “One Hundred Poems for One Hundred Poets” which was compiled in 1235 by Fujiwara Teika (1162-1241). Shows the poet on a craggy outcrop with waves crashing around him; Fuji in the distance. […]
Utagawa KUNIYOSHI (1797-1861)
Click here to view image full size. A poem by the celebrated poet Bunya no Yasuhide from the series Hyakunin isshu no uchi, “One Hundred Poems for One Hundred Poets” which was compiled in 1235 by Fujiwara Teika (1162-1241). The poet in the background watches as a fierce wind blows away some of the umbrellas […]
Utagawa KUNIYOSHI (1797-1861)
Click here to view image full size. A poem by the celebrated poet and monk Noin-hoshi from the series Hyakunin isshu no uchi, “One Hundred Poems for One Hundred Poets” which was compiled in 1235 by Fujiwara Teika (1162-1241). A group of travellers are caught in a torrential downpour. One of the best designs in […]
Utagawa KUNIYOSHI (1797-1861)
Click here to view image full size. Inuyama Dosetsu, one of the eight dog heroes, enveloped in a conflagration. The heroes represent a Confucian ideal or Buddhist regulation and meet various adversaries in the epic Nanso satomi hakkenden, “Biography of the Eight Dogs” written by Takizawa Bakin between 1814 and 1842. Dosetsu is gifted with […]
Tsukioka YOSHITOSHI (1839-1892)
Click here to view image full size. Samu-so: Tempo nenkan Fukagawa Nakamachi geisha fuzoku, “Looking Frozen: The Appearance of a Fukagawa Nakamachi Geisha in the Tempo Era [1830-1844].” Shows a beauty caught in a snowstorm, her umbrella laden with snow from a set Thirty-two Aspects of Women published by Tsunashima Kamekichi, 1888. The set depicts […]
Tsukioka YOSHITOSHI (1839-1892)
Click here to view image full size. Omota-so: Tempo nenkan Fukagawa karuko no fuzoku, “Looking Weighed-Down: The Appearance of a Waitress at Fukagawa in the Tempo Era [1830-1844].” Shows the waitress carrying a portable wooden table with food to a geisha party from a set Thirty-two Aspects of Women published by Tsunashima Kamekichi, 1888. The […]
Toyohara KUNICHIKA (1835-1900)
Click here to view image full size. The actor Otani Tomoemon V playing the role of Ono no Michikaze (also read as Ono no Tofu) in the play Ono no Tofu Aoyagi Suzuri performed at the Ichimura-za Theatre, 5/1869. From a set of at least 22 prints published by Gusokuya Kahei, 1869. Kunichika produced some […]
Toyohara KUNICHIKA (1835-1900)
Click here to view image full size. The actor Kawarasaki Sansho (later Ichikawa Danjuro IX) in the role of Sato Masakiyo in the Momoyama Goten Ohiroma scene from Momoyama Monogatari performed at the Ichimura-za Theatre, 8/1869. From a set of at least 22 prints published by Gusokuya Kahei, 1869. Kunichika produced some fine triptychs (horizontal […]
Torii KIYOHIRO (Active 1737-1776)
Torii KIYOHIRO Click here to view image full size. A large oban, 17.25 x 12.25 in; 44 x 35.2 cms, sumizuri-e with hand-applied colour. Shows two ama, abalone divers, on the seashore with nets in the background , abalone shells at their feet and an octopus in the waves below them. The poem above speaks […]
Keisai EISEN (1790-1848)
Click here to view image full size. A vertical double oban showing a falcon on a pine branch with a large red sun above. This was a very popular subject and many artists produced versions in different formats. However, I cannot, at the moment, locate another impression of this design. Published by Kawaguchiya Uhei, c […]
Isoda KORYUSAI (1735-1790)
Click here to view image full size. A hashira-e, “pillar print” showing two women washing clothes at a well. Koryusai cleverly uses the ropes of the pulley to emphasize the narrow format. Koryusai was the master of this sort of print. Pillar prints were introduced to hang, when mounted, on the pillars of a Japanese […]
Tamagawa SHUNSUI (Active 1772-1781)
Click here to view image full size. A hashira-e, “pillar print” by a rare artist, a pupil of Choshun who went on to teach Katsukawa Shunsho. Produced a few chuban, hosoban, and pillar prints. Shows the Minamoto (Genji) warrior Kumagai Naozane ,above, attacking the Taira (Heike) warrior Taira no Atsumori, below, at the battle of […]
Utagawa HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)
Click here to view image full size. Iyo Province, Saijo. From a set of 69 prints [Dai Nihon] Rokujuyoshu meisho zue, “Famous Places in the Sixty-odd Provinces [of Japan]” published by Koshihei between 1853 and 1856, this being 1853. A large furled sail in the foreground with Saiju village on the water’s edge. Beyond is […]
Kitagawa FUJIMARO (1790-1850)
Click here to view image full size. An original painting, full colour on silk, image size 35.25 x 13.5 in; 89.5 x 34.5 cms. Fujimaro was a talented late pupil of Utamaro. More than a dozen paintings are recorded by him including an example in the Portland Art Museum, acc. number 69.51. His best-known work […]
Ryuryukyo SHINSAI (1764-1820)
Click here to view image full size. An original painting, sumi and light colour on silk, 32 x 11 in; 81.3 x 28 csms. Shows three classes in Japanese society: Farmer’s wife, Priest and a Samurai, forced to shelter together at the entrance to a Shinto shrine from a sudden downpour of rain. Above, a […]
Utagawa KUNIYOSHI (1797-1861)
Click here to view image full size. Shows the warrior Chinsanzan Koshin (Chin: Huang Xin) holding the “Sword of Death.” His nickname was the “Guardian of the Three Mountains” because of his boast that he could easily eradicate the bandits from the three mountains in the Qingzhou region. . From the set Tsuzoku Suikoden goketsu […]
Tsukioka YOSHITOSHI (1839-1892)
Click here to view image full size. A triptych Taira Kiyomori hi no yamai no zu, “The Fever of Taira no Kiyomori.” Kiyomori’s wife, Niidono, dreams that the King of Hell, Ema, is coming for Kiyomori for his crime of burning the Rushana Buddha. His family gather around him and pray but to no avail. […]
Kawanabe KYOSAI (1831-1889)
Click here to view image full size. Shows the professional swordsman Kaibara Kenkichi travelling in the mountains from a set Kyosai rakuga, “Kyosai’s Drawings for Pleasure.” A satirical take on current events and mores. Generally considered the father of kendo. At the age of 13 he came under the tutelage of Seiichiro Odani to learn […]
Kobayashi KIYOCHIKA (1847-1915)
Click here to view image full size. Taira no Tadamori Mido hoshi o toraen zu. The story relates how the Emperor Shirakawa was perturbed by a monster in the precincts of the Mido Temple at night. He commands the samurai Taira no Tadamori to kill it. The triptych shows Tadamori discovering that the monster is, […]
Utagawa KUNIYOSHI (1797-1861)
Click here to view image full size. A triptych showing beauties carrying brine in yoked buckets to be made into salt. From a set Mu Tamagawa, Mutsu no kuni chidori no Tamagawa, “Six Jewel Rivers, Plover Jewel River in Mutsu Province.” Also known as the Noda Jewel River. Above, a flock of chidori. The Mu […]
Utagawa HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)
Click here to view image full size. One of a set: Edo Murasaki meisho Genji, “Murasaki’s Genji in Famous Places of Edo.” Mitate Ukifune Sumidagawa no watashi, “A Parody of Ukifune Crossing the Sumida River.” Shows a beauty on a ferry crossing the Sumida River in heavy snow, representing Ukifune, one of the court ladies […]
Keisai EISEN (1790-1848)
Click here to view image full size. An amorous couple beside a screen decorated with a large chrysanthemum. From a set of twelve prints Keisei higo, “Secret Words of a Courtesan” published c 1822-25. Although coming under the heading of shunga, each print is an abuna-e design, without any graphic detail. Shows a courtesan with […]
Utagawa HIROSHIGE II (1826-1869)
Click here to view image full size. A view of a smoking Mt Asama, Shinano Province, from Shokoku meisho hyakkei, the “One Hundred Views of Famous Places in the Provinces.” Mt Asama is an active volcano which violently erupted in 1108. Subsequently there was another eruption in 1783 and since then there have been minor […]
Utagawa KUNIYASU (1794-1832)
Click here to view image full size. A triptych Soshu Enoshima Benzaiten Iwaya narabi sairei no zu, “Picture of Iwaya, the Main Shrine, Pilgrims to the Display of Benzaiten at Enoshima.” Enoshima island was a popular place to visit with the Iwaya caves and the shrine of the Buddhist goddess Benzaiten (Benten), goddess of the […]
Utagawa HIROSHIGE II (1826-1869)
Click here to view image full size. The Dragon’s Maw Mountain, Bizen Province, Bizen tatsu-no-kuchiyama from an unfinished set Shokoku meisho hyakkei, “One Hundred Views of Famous Places in the Provinces” published by Uoya Eikichi between 1859 and 1861 (this being 1860). Shows a lone figure battling a heavy rainstorm in a steep-sided canyon. […]
Utagawa HIROSHIGE II (1829-1869)
Click here to view image full size. A snow scene: Imadobashi Matsuchiyama, “Imado Bridge and Matsuchi Hill.” From Toto sanjurokkei, “Thirty-six Views of the Eastern [Edo] Capital.” The set published by Ai-To between 1861-1862 (this being 1862). Hiroshige I also designed a number of prints of the same area. The bridge goes over the Sanya […]
Utagawa HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)
Click here to view image full size. Hoki, ono Daisen enbo, “Hoki [Province], Distant View of Mount Daisen.” Shows rice-planting in the rain, with the volcanic mountain in the background. From a set of 69 prints [Dai Nihon] Rokujuyoshi meisho zue, “Famous Places in the Sixty-odd Provinces [of Japan]” published by Koshimuraya Heisuke between 1853 […]