Utagawa kuniyoshi biography of william

Utagawa Kuniyoshi ()

Utagawa Kuniyoshi (), was one of the last great masters of the Japanese woodblock print.

He was born in , the son of a silk-dyer, originally named Yoshizo.

He apparently assisted his father by designing for the business, and quite naturally found his way to the art world.

Utagawa kuniyoshi biography of william

He originally studied with the artist Kuninao, and some of his work came to the attention of one of the great masters of the Japanese woodblock print, Toyokuni. He was officially admitted to Toyokuni's studio in , and became one of his chief pupils.

He remained an apprentice until , when he was given the name Kuniyoshi and set out as an independent artist.

Like many others of the Utagawa school, he started out with theatre prints, but his initial lack of success led to several hard years, at one point making a meagre living repairing and selling used tatami (floormats).

A chance encounter with his prosperous fellow pupil Kunisada, to whom he felt (with some justice) that h