Posts by Richard Kruml:
Utagawa YOSHITSUYA (1822-1866)
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The magician Ryuomaru battling with a giant dragon from a set of fine designs: Honcho musha kagami, “Mirror of Warriors of Our Country.” Published 1856-7 by Tsujiokaya Bunsuke. A good pupil of Kuniyoshi.
Good impression, colour and condition. Signed Ichieisai Yoshitsuya ga.
Status: Sold
Kawanabe KYOSAI (1831-1889)
Click here to view image full size. A triptych, Nanba senki no uchi, “The Battle of Nanba,” showing the Buddhist monk Tenkai (1536-1643) chanting a spell, and Okubo Hikozaemon (1560-1639), both retainers of Tokugawa Ieyasu, at the great battle of Domyoji, Osaka, in 1615. Tokugawa Ieyasu’s army clashed with the Osaka army of Toyotomi Hideyori. […]
Ogata GEKKO (1859-1920)
Click here to view image full size. A triptych showing the last stand of the Kusunoki Clan at the Battle of Shijonawate in 1348. The event took place during the Nanbokucho wars when the Kusunoki Masatsura forces of the Southern Imperial Court were attacked at Yoshino by the Northern forces led by Ko no Moroyasu. […]
Utagawa KUNIYOSHI (1797-1861)
Click here to view image full size. A print from the set Mitate junishi, “Selection for the Twelve Signs [of the Zodiac].” This being Dog. Shows the wrestler Inuda (Inu, “Dog”) Kobungo umpiring a match between two crabs. Published c. 1845 by Iba-ya Sensaburo. Robinson S38.11. Fine impression and colour. Very slight trimming, […]
Tsukioka YOSHITOSHI (1839-1892)
Click here to view image full size. A triptych showing Yamauba on the left and Kintaro about to wield a large axe to break a large Kaga mimochi, mirror rice cake. This is a traditional Shinto rite in January. January 11th is also the day the wealthy opened their storehouses to air their precious possessions […]
Utagawa KUNIYOSHI (1797-1861)
Click here to view image full size. Oho ( Wang P’ou ) visiting his mother’s tomb to comfort her during a thunderstorm. Shows peasants fleeing the zigzag lightning bolts. From a set of fourteen prints: Nijushi-ko doji kagami, “Mirror of the Twenty-Four Paragons of Filial Piety.” Published by Wakasa-ya Yoichi, c 1840. Each print shows […]
Tsukioka YOSHITOSHI (1839-1892)
Click here to view image full size. Haso no tsuki, “Moon Through a Crumbling Window” from the set Tsuki hyakushi, the “Hundred Phases of the Moon.” The set published between 1885 and 1892 (this being 1886) by Akiyama Buemon. Shows Bodhidharma (Jap: Daruma), founder of Zen Buddhism, meditating in a cave for nine years after […]
Tsukioka YOSHITOSHI (1839-1892)
Click here to view image full size. Faith in the Third-day Moon from the set Tsuki hyakushi, the “Hundred Phases of the Moon.” The set published between 1885 and 1892 (this being 1886) by Akiyama Buemon. Shows the standing figure of the samurai Yamanaka Shikanosuke Yukimori. The moon appears both as a half crescent on […]
Tsukioka YOSHITOSHI (1839-1892)
Click here to view image full size. Saito no Oniwakamuru from the set Ikkai zuihitsu, “A Miscellany by Ikkai.” (This being an early name of Yoshitoshi’s.) The young Saito Musashibo Benkei was given the moniker Oniwakamuru “Devil Child” because of his feats of strength and general behaviour. The episode depicted here, which was a popular […]
Tsukioka YOSHITOSHI (1839-1892)
Click here to view image full size. Shows the famous Heron Maiden. There are different versions of this story but the most common tells how a young man finds an injured heron. He nurses it back to health and releases it. Some time later a beautiful young woman appears in his village. He falls in […]
Tsukioka YOSHITOSHI (1839-1892)
Click here to view image full size. Musashino no tsuki, “The Moon on Musashi Plain” from the set Tsuki hyakushi, the “Hundred Phases of the Moon.” The set published between 1885 and 1892 (this being 1892) by Akiyama Buemon. One of the three best designs from the set and one that relies most on the […]
Tsukioka YOSHITOSHI (1839-1892)
Click here to view image full size. A fox priest from the set Tsuki hyakushi, the “Hundred Phases of the Moon.” The set published between 1885 and 1892 (this being 1886) by Akiyama Buemon. Based on the Kyogen farce Konkai, “A Foxe’s Cry” which tells of a hunter who is lectured on trapping foxes by […]
Utagawa KUNIYOSHI (1797-1861)
Click here to view image full size. Saginoike Heikuro from Honcho Suikoden goyu happyaku-nin no hitori, “Eight Hundred Heroes of our Country’s Suikoden, One by One.” Shows the brigand wrestling with a huge serpent at the Lake of Sayama (or Hazama) at Tondabayashi in the Province of Kawachi. Published by Ibaya Sensaburo, c 1845. (First […]
Utagawa KUNIYOSHI (1797-1861)
Click here to view image full size. The warrior Hitentaisei Rikon (Chin: Li Gun) in armour and holding a hand spear (nage-yari) the use of which he excelled at. He scans the horizon from a craggy outcrop. From the set Tsuzoku Suikoden goketsu hyaku-hachi-nin no hitori, “The Hundred and Eight Heroes of the Popular Suikoden, […]
Utagawa KUNIYOSHI (1797-1861)
Click here to view image full size. Kyusempo Sakucho (Chin: Suo Chao) at the battle of Peking from Tsuzoku Suikoden goketsu hyaku-hachi-nin no hitori, “The Hundred and Eight Heroes of the Popular Suikoden, One by One.” Based on the Chinese novel Shui Hu Zhuan, attributed to Shi’Nai’an, which tells of a band of 108 brigands […]
Utagawa KUNIYOSHI (1797-1861)
Click here to view image full size. Shows the fearsome female warrior, Fujinoye, defending Takadachi Castle in 1189. In a rain of arrows she attacks Yemoto Juro and Nagasawa Uyemon-taro on the castle steps. From the set Honcho Suikoden goyu happyaku-nin no hitori, “Eight Hundred Heroes of our Country’s Suikoden, One by One.” Published by […]
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 […]
Utagawa KUNIYOSHI (1797-1861)
Click here to view image full size. Shows Sasaki Saburo Moritsuna, holding a dirk in his mouth, and strangling the fisherman Fujidayu. From an untitled set published by Kawaguchi-ya Uhei, c 1825-30. The story revolves around Moritsuna bribing the fisherman to reveal the whereabouts of the shallows at Fujito, a strait separating Kojima from the […]
Tsukioka YOSHITOSHI (1839-1892)
Click here to view image full size. A triptych Gikeiki Gojobashi no zu, “Gojo Bridge in the Chronicles of Yoshitsune.” Shows Musashi-bo Benkei of herculean strength subdued by the young Onzoshi Ushiwaka Maru (Yoshitsune) on Gojo Bridge.The story relates how Benkei (1155-1189) wandered around Kyoto with the intention of relieving 1000 samurai of their swords. […]
Tsukioka YOSHITOSHI (1839-1892)
Click here to view image full size. A triptych showing the Japanese Buddhist deity Fudo Myo-o, one of the five “Kings of Wisdom,” above the novitiate priest Yuten Shonin (1637-1718) about to consume the sword of wisdom thereby gaining supernatural wisdom and enlightenment. (Often miscatalogued as threatening him.) On the right is the goddess of […]
Utagawa KUNIYOSHI (1797-1861)
Click here to view image full size. The best design from a set of half-length otokodate figures: Kuniyoshi moyo shofuda tsuketari genkin otoko, “Men of Ready Money with True Labels Attached, Kuniyoshi Fashion.” Here showing Danshichi Kurobei emptying a bucket of water over himself. Danshichi was a fishmonger in the city of Sakai who murdered […]
Tsukioka YOSHITOSHI (1839-1892)
Click here to view image full size. Tamiya Boutaro from a set Kokoku nijushiko, “The Twenty-four Accomplishments in Imperial Japan.” Shows the spirit of the tengu helping Tamiya Boutaro Munechika avenge his father’s death. The set published by Tsuda Genshichi 1881-87 (this being 1881). Fine impression: This is the first edition. It was […]
An original BLOCK (c. 1715)
Click here to view image full size. Click here to view image full size. An original double-sided wood block, c. 1715. This is the earliest block I have catalogued or indeed seen. Shows warriors in combat on one side and on the reverse a samurai and attendant approaching a beauty on a balcony. Sold “as […]
Utagawa KUNIYOSHI (1797-1861)
Click here to view image full size. The priest Nichiren standing on a rocky promontory at Reizen in Kamakura and having his prayers for rain answered. The event occurred in 1271. His disciples surround him and protect him from the deluge with a large umbrella. Bunei hachi Kamakura Reizan-ga-saki uki. The second best design from […]
Kobayashi KIYOCHIKA (1847-1915)
Click here to view image full size. A triptych, Akechi Samanosuke Mitsuhara kosui joho Karasaki matsu no zu. Shows Akechi Samanosuke Mitsuhara swimming with his horse and with his kikyo (Chinese bell flower) standard tied to his back across Lake Biwa to his cousin’s house at Sakamoto where he kills Mitsuhide’s wife and children to […]
Tsukioka YOSHITOSHI (1839-1892)
Click here to view image full size. A vertical diptych Shunkan sozu Kikaigashima ni oite tamatama Yasuyori no shamen sembo kito no zu. Shows Shunkan watching a boat sail away from Kikai Island with his pardoned compatriots. Shunkan, the abbot of the Zen temple Hoshoji in Kyoto, was exiled to the barren island of Kikaigashima […]
Utagawa KUNISADA (1786-1865)
Click here to view image full size. A very early and extremely rare diptych showing Hakamadare Yasusuke and Hirai no Yasumasa. A famous story depicted many times by other artists during the following century. The story relates how Yasumasa, an accomplished flautist, is playing his flute one evening on Ichihara moor. Unknown to him, the […]
Suzuki HARUNOBU (1724-1770)
Click here to view image full size. A pillar print showing a young dandy holding an Odawara lantern on entering a Shinto shrine. One leg of the Torii is in the background behind a hinoki tree. Another impression is illustrated in The Japanese Pillar Print, Hashira-e, Jacob Pins, Robert G. Sawers publishing, 1982, 184a, p. […]
Katsukawa SHUNTEI (1770-1820)
Click here to view image full size. A triptych showing the killing of the giant Earth Spider in its cave. These Tsuchigumo were a form of spider-like yokai. Minamoto no Yorimitsu’s (aka Raiko, 948-1021) retainers (The Four Heavenly Kings) are shown holding the spider down with the trunk of a large tree: Sakata no Kintoki, […]
Utagawa KUNIYOSHI (1797-1861)
Click here to view image full size. A triptych showing Fujiwara no Hidesato being accompanied by a retinue of fish, octopuses and lobsters as he leaves the Dragon King’s Palace with the presents of inexhaustible rice, bolts of cloth, and a bell in gratitude for killing the centipede of Mount Mikami. Ryugujo Tawara Toda Hidesato […]
Taiso YOSHITOSHI (1839-1892)
Click here to view image full size. Kobayakawa Takakage debating with the tengu on mount Hiko from Shinkei sanjurokkaisen, “New Forms of Thirty-six Ghosts.”The set published by Sasaki Toyokichi, 1889-1892 (this being 1892). Very fine first edition. Fine colour and condition. Signed Yoshitoshi. Status: Sold
Tsukioka YOSHITOSHI (1839-1892)
Click here to view image full size. Shows the famous episode from the Edo novel Nanso Satomi hakkenden “Chronicles of the Eight Dog Heroes of the Satomi Clan of Nanso.” Two of the heroes Inuzuka Shino and Inukai Kempachi fall from the rooftop of Horyukachu Tower, Koga Castle, still grappling with each other and scattering […]
Tsukioka YOSHITOSHI (1839-1892)
Click here to view image full size. Shows Asahina Saburo Yoshihide, the fabled warrior of superhuman strength, subjugating the King of Hell, Ema-o. He forces him to indicate the path to Heaven. This episode is from the kabuki play Asahina. From the set Ikkai zuihitsu, “Essays by Yoshitoshi.” (Ikkai was an early name of Yoshitoshi’s.) […]
Tsukioka YOSHITOSHI (1839-1892)
Click here to view image full size. Shows the cannibalistic old hag of Adachi Moor attacking a young woman. There are various versions of this macabre story but the central theme is that she needed to collect blood, usually from unborn children, either for herself or as a remedy for her sickly lord. From the […]
Tsukioka YOSHITOSHI (1839-1892)
Click here to view image full size. Shows the famed warrior Sanada Saemon-no-jo Yukimura (in fact Nobushige) crouching down amongst giant lotus plants, holding a rifle, in order to ambush Tokugawa Ieyasu during the siege of Osaka castle. Initially, Yukimura was a follower of Ieyasu but was betrayed by having his land seized and so […]
Tsukioka YOSHITOSHI (1839-1892)
Click here to view image full size. Yodo-no-Kimi (aka Yodogimi), the concubine and second wife of the daimyo Toyotomi Hideyoshi, readies herself for seppuku: Hideyoshi, having died, she and her son are thought to pose a threat to Tokugawa Ieyasu who had become a guardian of Hideyoshi’s son. They hold up in Osaka castle where […]
Tsukioka YOSHITOSHI (1839-1892)
Click here to view image full size. Shows Chao Gai (Jap. Takuto Tenno Chogai), the Heavenly King and Suikoden hero, lifting a stone pagoda which releases a Pandora’s box of gruesome spirits: An enormous white figure with a face on its abdomen, various oni and a brown spirit, its chest holding a twisting snake. From […]
Utagawa KUNIYOSHI (1797-1861)
Click here to view image full size. The last stand of the Kusunoki at Shijonawate in 1348. The battle between Ko no Moronao of the Northern Court and Kusunoki Masatsura of the Southern Court. Shows the warriors Genshu, Masatsura and Masatomo in a hail of arrows. Masatsura dies at the tender age of 22. This […]
Utagawa KUNIYOSHI (1797-1861)
Click here to view image full size. Sasai Kyuzo Masayasu enveloped in smoke and avoiding musketry at the battle of Anegawa. The best design from the set Taiheiki yeiyuden, “Heroic Stories of the Taiheiki.” A history of the wars of the loyalist Nitta and Kusunoki families against the Ashikaga war-lords during the second quarter of […]
Utagawa KUNIYOSHI (1797-1861)
Click here to view image full size. Shows Hatsuhana’s long penance under the Tonozawa waterfall to aid her crippled husband “Hazari” Katsugoro who is intent on revenging his brother’s murder. Hatsuhana dies, Katsugoro is cured and kills his arch enemy near the waterfall. From the set Kenjo reppuden, “Stories of Wise and Virtuous Women.” Published […]