LANDSCAPE

BIRD AND FLOWER

BEAUTIES

KABUKI ACTOR

PILLOW PICTURE

CARICATURE

SHINHANGA

BOOKPLATE

TAMURA SADANOBU / 田村貞信

Tamura Sadanobu (active ca. 1725–1748) was an early Edo-period ukiyo-e artist and pupil of Nishimura Sukenobu. He produced primitive-style urushi-e and hand-colored prints of kabuki actors, elegant courtesans, and theatrical scenes, often using lacquer-like effects and metallic pigments to bridge early and emerging full-color techniques in bijin-ga and yakusha-e.

SUZUKI HARUNOBU / 鈴木春信

Suzuki Harunobu (1725–1770) was a pioneering Edo-period ukiyo-e artist credited with inventing nishiki-e, the first full-color woodblock prints, around 1765. His delicate, graceful images of young women and poetic everyday scenes revolutionized the medium and influenced later masters.

ISHIKAWA TOYONOBU / 石川豊信

Ishikawa Toyonobu (1711–1785) was a mid-18th-century Edo-period ukiyo-e artist who excelled in benizuri-e and urushi-e prints. He created elegant depictions of courtesans, kabuki actors, and Yoshiwara scenes, bridging primitive styles to refined bijin-ga and theatrical subjects.

KATSUKAWA SHUNSHO / 勝川春章

Katsukawa Shunsho (1726–1793) was a foundational Edo-period ukiyo-e artist and founder of the Katsukawa school. A master of yakusha-e, he revolutionized kabuki actor prints with realistic, expressive portraits capturing performers’ personalities and dramatic poses, influencing pupils like Shun'ei, Shunko, and Hokusai.

ISODA KORYUSAI / 礒田湖龍斎

Isoda Koryusai (active ca. 1760s–1780s) was an Edo-period ukiyo-e artist, originally a samurai, who began in Harunobu’s style before developing his own refined approach. He excelled in elegant bijin-ga of tall, graceful courtesans, hashira-e pillar prints, kacho-ga, and innovative large okubi-e portraits.

IPPITSUSAI BUNCHO / 一筆斎文調

Ippitsusai Buncho (active c. 1765–1792) was an 18th-century Japanese ukiyo-e artist of the Katsukawa school. He specialized in yakusha-e and bijin-ga, and is renowned for his graceful lines and pioneering realistic facial expressions in kabuki actor portraits.

TORII KIYONAGA / 鳥居清長

Torii Kiyonaga (1752–1815) was a leading Edo-period ukiyo-e artist and head of the Torii school. Adopted by Torii Kiyomitsu, whom he succeeded, he dominated the 1780s with elegant bijin-ga prints of graceful women in outdoor and group settings, influencing later masters like Utamaro.

KITAGAWA UTAMARO / 喜多川歌麿

Kitagawa Utamaro (c. 1753–1806) was one of the greatest Edo-period ukiyo-e artists, renowned for his exquisite bijin-ga. He portrayed geisha and everyday women with elegant lines, delicate colors, and intimate close-up portraits, capturing their poise and sensuality. His idealized figures, active mainly in the 1790s, deeply influenced later ukiyo-e and Western art.

CHOBUNSAI EISHI/ 鳥文斎栄之

Chobunsai Eishi (1756–1829), also known as Hosoda Eishi, was a distinguished Edo-period ukiyo-e artist from a prominent samurai family. Trained in the elegant Kano school and a former shogunal court painter, he transitioned to ukiyo-e in the mid-1780s, gaining fame for his refined, slender bijin-ga depictions of graceful beauties.

SUZUKI HARUSHIGE / 鈴木春重

Suzuki Harushige (active c. 1770s–1780s) was the early pseudonym of Shiba Kokan (1747–1818). Following Suzuki Harunobu’s death in 1770, he produced ukiyo-e prints imitating Harunobu’s graceful bijin-ga style before pioneering Western-influenced yōga techniques, including copperplate engraving and oil painting.

CHOKOSAI EISHO / 鳥高斎栄昌

Chokosai Eisho (also known as Hosoda Eisho, fl. ca. 1780–1800) was an Edo-period ukiyo-e artist and prominent pupil of Chobunsai Eishi. He excelled in elegant bijin-ga, creating delicate okubi-e close-up portraits of courtesans and beauties, often enhanced with mica for luminous effects. His personal life is largely unknown.

UTAGAWA TOYOKUNI / 歌川豊国

Utagawa Toyokuni (1769–1825) was a leading Edo-period ukiyo-e artist and founder of the influential Utagawa school. A pupil of Toyoharu, he gained fame in the 1790s for dynamic, expressive yakusha-e kabuki actor prints and later produced elegant bijin-ga of beautiful women, shaping 19th-century printmaking.

KIKUKAWA EIZAN / 菊川英山

Kikukawa Eizan (1787–1867) was a prominent late Edo-period ukiyo-e artist and founder of the Kikukawa school. Influenced by Suzuki Harunobu via Eisho, he excelled in elegant bijin-ga of graceful geisha and fashionable women in richly detailed kimono, often outdoors. Active in the Bunka-Bunsei era, his refined, sensual style bridged classical ukiyo-e to the bolder works of his pupil Keisai Eisen.

KEISAI EISEN / 渓斎英泉

Keisai Eisen (1790–1848) was a prominent late Edo-period ukiyo-e artist and pupil of Kikukawa Eizan. Renowned for bold, sensual bijin-ga of geisha and beauties, he also created striking landscapes, shunga erotica, and warrior prints in a distinctive, curvaceous style during the Bunka-Bunsei era.

UTAGAWA KUNISADA / 歌川国貞

Utagawa Kunisada (1786–1865), also known as Toyokuni III, was one of the most prolific and popular late Edo-period ukiyo-e artists. A leading pupil of Utagawa Toyokuni, he dominated from the 1810s with vibrant yakusha-e kabuki portraits, elegant bijin-ga of beautiful women, and dynamic warrior and genre scenes in a bold, colorful style.

UTAGAWA HIROSHIGE / 歌川広重

Utagawa Hiroshige (1797–1858), also known as Ando Hiroshige, was a master Edo-period ukiyo-e artist of the Utagawa school. He revolutionized landscape prints with poetic, atmospheric depictions of travel routes, seasons, and famous views, most notably in The Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido and One Hundred Famous Views of Edo. His evocative work profoundly influenced Western Impressionism.

UTAGAWA KUNIYOSHI / 歌川国芳

Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797–1861) was a leading late Edo-period ukiyo-e artist and major figure in the Utagawa school. A pupil of Utagawa Toyokuni, he became renowned for dynamic musha-e warrior prints, heroic historical scenes, mythical creatures, and dramatic landscapes filled with bold, imaginative, and intricately detailed compositions.

TOSHUSAI SHARAKU / 東洲斎写楽

Toshusai Sharaku (active 1794–1795) was a mysterious Edo-period ukiyo-e artist renowned for his intensely dramatic yakusha-e kabuki actor prints. His strikingly expressive, large-headed portraits captured performers’ fierce emotions and exaggerated features with bold lines and profound psychological depth. Active for only about ten months, his roughly 140 works rank among ukiyo-e’s most powerful and innovative.

UTAGAWA KUNISADA II / 歌川国貞 二代

Utagawa Kunisada II (1823–1880), also known as Toyokuni IV, was a late Edo-period ukiyo-e artist. A pupil, adopted son, and son-in-law of Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III), he succeeded him as head of the Utagawa school. He produced vibrant yakusha-e, elegant bijin-ga, Genji illustrations, and landscapes in a bold, colorful style that extended his master’s legacy into the Meiji era.

KATSUSHIKA HOKUSAI / 葛飾北斎

Katsushika Hokusai (1760–1849) was one of Japan’s most celebrated Edo-period ukiyo-e artists. Renowned for revolutionizing landscape prints with iconic works like The Great Wave off Kanagawa from Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, he produced thousands of dynamic prints, sketches, and paintings across diverse subjects, profoundly influencing global art.

TOTOYA HOKKEI / 魚屋北渓

Totoya Hokkei (1780–1850) was a distinguished late Edo-period ukiyo-e artist and favored pupil of Katsushika Hokusai. He excelled in refined surimono, elegant landscapes, and delicate bijin-ga of graceful women, blending Hokusai’s dynamic style with precise, sophisticated elegance and poetic, intricately detailed themes.

KAWANABE KYOSAI / 河鍋暁斎

Kawanabe Kyosai (1831–1889) was an eccentric master artist of the late Edo and Meiji periods. Trained under Utagawa Kuniyoshi, he became renowned for bold, humorous, and satirical works featuring dynamic warriors, ghosts, caricatures, expressive animals, and folklore in a wild, spirited style bridging ukiyo-e tradition with modern sensibilities.

TOYOHARA KUNICHIKA / 豊原国周

Toyohara Kunichika (1835–1900) was a prominent ukiyo-e artist of the late Edo and Meiji periods. A disciple of Utagawa Kunisada, he specialized in dynamic kabuki actor prints and earned the title “Meiji no Sharaku” for his bold, vivid, and expressive theatrical portrayals, ranking among the last great masters of traditional Japanese printmaking.

MORIKAWA CHIKASHIGE / 守川周重

Morikawa Chikashige (active ca. 1869–1882) was a Meiji-period ukiyo-e artist and pupil of Toyohara Kunichika, from whom he took his art name. He specialized in vibrant kabuki actor triptychs (yakusha-e), producing over a hundred designs, along with newspaper illustrations and prints of modernization, before his career largely ended by 1882.

KAWASE HASUI / 川瀬巴水

Kawase Hasui (1883–1957) was a leading Japanese shin-hanga artist renowned for his serene, atmospheric woodblock landscape prints. Traveling widely across Japan for decades, he created over 600 works masterfully capturing rain, snow, night, and moonlight, earning the title “Hiroshige of the Showa era.”

SHIRO KASAMATSU / 笠松紫浪

Shiro Kasamatsu (1898–1991) was a prominent Japanese woodblock print artist of the Shin-hanga movement. Born in Tokyo, he studied under Kaburagi Kiyokata and became known for his atmospheric landscapes, cityscapes, and evocative scenes of Japan. Active from the 1920s to the 1980s, he is celebrated as one of the last great Shin-hanga masters.

KAWARAZAKI SHODO / 河原崎奨堂

Kawarazaki Shodo (1889–1973) was a renowned Kyoto-based Japanese painter and woodblock print artist. Famous for his elegant and vibrant floral prints, especially the Flowers of Japan series, he masterfully combined traditional techniques with modern decorative style, becoming a leading figure in 20th-century Japanese print art.