Artist – Toyohara KUNICHIKA (Japanese: 豊原 国周; 30 June 1835 – 1 July 1900) was a Japanese woodblock print artist. Talented as a child, he became a student of Tokyo's then-leading print maker, Utagawa Kunisada at about thirteen. His deep appreciation and knowledge of kabuki drama led to his production primarily of ukiyo-e actor-prints, mainly of kabuki actors and scenes from popular plays of the time. KUNICHIKA also portrayed women deemed beautiful (bijinga), contemporary social life, and a few landscapes and historical scenes. He worked successfully in the Edo period, and carried those traditions into the Meiji period. To his contemporaries and now to some modern art historians, this has been seen as a significant achievement during a transitional period of great social and political change in Japan's history. KUNICHIKA was known as one of “The Three Greats of Meiji Ukiyo-e”, along with Yoshitoshi Tsukioka (1839-1892) and Kiyochika Kobayashi (1847-1915), and received praise as the “Meiji Sharaku”, a reference to the Edo period Ukiyo-e artist, Sharaku. KUNICHIKA's rise to prominence can be seen in his high ratings from the "saikenki" (a popular guide that rated ukiyo-e artists), in which he was rated #8 in 1865, #5 in 1867 and #4 in 1885. In November 1890 a reporter for the newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun wrote about the specializations of artists of the Utagawa School1: "Yoshitoshi was the specialist for warrior prints, Kunichika the woodblock artist known for portraits of actors, and Chikanobu for court ladies."

At age ten he was apprenticed to a thread and yarn store. However, because he preferred painting and sketching to learning the dry goods trade, at eleven he moved to a shop near his father's bathhouse. There he helped in the design of Japanese lampshades called andon, consisting of a wooden frame with a paper cover. When he was twelve, his older brother, Chōkichi, opened a raised picture shop, and Yasohachi drew illustrations for him. At the same time he designed actor portraits for battledores sold by a shop called Meirindo.

At around the age of twelve KUNICHIKA first studied under the artist Ichiosai Toyohara Chikanobu, not to be confused with Kunichika’s student of the same name, also known as Toyohara Chikanobu. His teacher gave him the name "Kazunobu". It may have been on the recommendation of Ichiosai Chikanobu that the boy was accepted the following year as an apprentice in the studio of Utagawa Kunisada, the leading and most prolific print maker of the mid-19th century. In 1848 he became formally apprenticed to the artist Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III, 1786-1865).  His first prints as an apprentice were published in the early 1850s. His apprenticeship was formative, as he remained grounded in the Utagawa style he was taught in Kunisada's studio, even after he achieved artistic independence during the mid 1860s-70s.

By 1854 the young artist had made his first confirmed signed print and had taken the name "KUNICHIKA", a composite of the names of this two teachers, Kunisada and Ichiosai Chikanobu. His early work was derivative of the Utagawa style and some of his prints were outright copies. While working in Kunisada's studio, KUNICHIKA was assigned a commission to make a print illustrating a bird's-eye view of Tenjinbashi Avenue following the terrible earthquake of 1855 that destroyed most of the city. This assignment suggests that he was considered one of Kunisada's better students.

KUNICHIKA was a known alcoholic and womanizer. The "prankster" artist got into trouble in 1862 when, in response to a commission for a print illustrating a fight at a theater, he made a "parody print" (mitate-e) which angered the students who had been involved in the heavy struggles. They ransacked KUNICHIKA's house and tried to enter Kunisada's studio by force. His mentor revoked KUNICHIKA's right to use the name he had been given but relented later that year. Decades afterwards KUNICHIKA described himself as greatly "humbled" by that experience. KUNICHIKA's status continued to rise and he was commissioned to create several portraits of his teacher.

KUNICHIKA's work stands in contrast to that of many of his contemporaries as he persistently held onto the traditional style and subject matter of the classic Japanese woodcut, unaffected by new Western forms of art. His love of Kabuki inspired him to depict actors in their various roles and varying facial expressions. His skillful use of color and ability to translate the actor's depth of emotion onto the page makes his work some of the most dramatic ever produced. Later on in his career, KUNICHIKA turned primarily to the triptych format as the increased size gave him the space to fully portray the drama and action of the characters represented.

Contemporary observers noted Kunichika's skillful use of color in his actor prints, but he was also criticized for his color choices. Unlike most artists of the period, he made use of strong reds and dark purples, often as background colors, rather than the softer colors that had previously been used. These new colors were made of aniline dyes imported in the Meiji period from Germany. (For the Japanese the color red meant progress and enlightenment in the new era of Western-style progress.)

When Kunisada died in 1865, his student was commissioned to design two memorial portraits. The right panel of the portrait contains an obituary written by the writer, Kanagaki Robun, while the left contains memorial poems written by the three top students, including KUNICHIKA.



Personal life - Toyohara KUNICHIKA was born ŌSHIMA Yasohachi (大島 八十八) on June 30 in 1835, in the Kyōbashi district of Edo of present-day Tokyo. His father, ŌSHIMA Kyujū, was the proprietor of a sentō (public bathhouse), the Ōshūya. He lost the bathhouse sometime in Yasohachi's childhood. The boy's mother, ARAKAWA Oyae, was the daughter of a teahouse proprietor. At that time, commoners of a certain social standing could ask permission to alter the family name (myōji gomen). To distance themselves from the father's failure, the family took the mother's surname, and the boy became ARAKAWA Yasohachi (荒川 八十八). Little is known about his childhood except that, as a youth, Yasohachi earned a reputation as a prankster and drew complaints from his neighbours, and that at nine he was involved in a fight at the Sanno Festival in Asakusa.

As a young man, KUNICHIKA had a reputation for a beautiful singing voice and as a fine dancer. He is known to have used these talents in amateur burlesque shows.In 1861 Kunichika married his first wife, Ohana, and in that same year had a daughter, Hana. The marriage is thought not to have lasted long, as he was a womanizer. He fathered two out-of-wedlock children, a girl and a boy, with whom he had no contact, but he does appear to have remained strongly attached to his daughter Hana.

Kunichika was described as having an open, friendly and sincere personality. He enjoyed partying with the geishas and prostitutes of the Yoshiwara district, while consuming abundant amounts of alcohol. His greatest passion, however, was said to be the theater, where he was a backstage regular. His appearance said to be shabby. He was constantly in debt and often borrowed money from the kabuki actors he depicted so admiringly. A contemporary said of him: "Print designing, theater and drinking were his life and for him that was enough." A contemporary actor, Matsusuke IV, said that when visiting actors backstage for the purpose of sketching them, Kunichika would not socialize but would concentrate intensely on his work. Around 1897, his older brother opened the Arakawa Photo shop, and Kunichika worked in the store.

About three yers later, KUNICHIKA died at his home in Honjo (an eastern suburb of Edo) on July 1, 1900 at the age of 65, due to a combination of poor health and bouts of heavy drinking brought on by the death at 39 of his daughter Hana while giving birth to his grandson, Yoshido Ito, some months previously.  He was buried at the Shingon Buddhist sect temple of Honryu-ji in Imado, Asakusa. His grave marker is thought to have been destroyed in a 1923 earthquake, but family members erected a new one in 1974.
 

Aliases - ŌSHIMA Yasohachi (大島 八十八, childhood name), ARAKAWA Yasohachi 荒川 八十八, youth name). The surname of Arakawa is from his mother, Arakawa Sannojo. The name Arakawa Yasohachi 荒川 八十八 sometimes appeared also on KUNICHIKA's works after 1875 when artists' and publishers' names and addresses were required on prints. KUNICHIKA was called "Kazunobu" during his stay as Ichiosai Chikanobu's pupil. His first confirmed signed print during his time at Kunisadas studio was simply signed "KUNICHIKA" ("国周"), while "Toyohara KUNICHIKA" ("豊原 国周") or simply "Toyohara"  ("豊原") was most often used.


Disciples - Little is known about many of KUNICHIKA's pupils except that, following tradition, most incorporated the character of chika from 'KUNICHIKA' into their own art names, e.g., Chikashige, Yōshū Chikanobu (1838-1912), Toyohara Chikayoshi (fl. 1870s-1880s), Chikasue, Chikaharu and Chikamaru.  KUNICHIKA's most accomplished students, Yōshū Chikanobu (1838-1912) and Morikawa Chikashige (fl. second half 19th c.) were both contemporaries with KUNICHIKA in age. Chikayoshi is KUNICHIKA's only known female student who became, it is said, one of his many partners.