Utagawa Kunisada Biography
Utagawa Kunisada was born in Edo in 1786. From a young age, Kunisada demonstrated a strong inclination for art, copying the drawings of Kabuki theater actors. Around 1800, he was accepted as an apprentice by Toyokuni, one of the greatest woodcut drawing masters of the time, and took the stage name "gō".
He initially made prints of actors, specializing in the Utagawa school, but soon moved on to bijin-ga. He also portrayed landscapes and samurai, but was less successful in this field. He also produced a large number of shunga, erotic prints. In 1844-1845, he changed his stage name to Toyokuni III, taking the name of his master.
He often collaborated with Hiroshige and Kuniyoshi, producing series of prints that were in high demand in the 1840s and 1850s, when Japan was booming. Around this time, Kunisada reached the pinnacle of his career, dominating the market for prints of kabuki actors and genji, while also producing large numbers of bijin-ga and sumo-e paintings. It is estimated that he produced more than 20,000 works in his lifetime.
The last years of his life were characterized by a qualitative renaissance: his series became much more inspired and distinguished themselves from most of his earlier mass-produced works. Kunisada died in Edo in 1864 after training several students, including Toyohara Kunichika and Utagawa Kunisada II.
