Japanese Woodprint Ukiyoe

This print represent the actors of a kabuki scene Nani Tachibana Hana Benkei (名橘花弁慶) .It was made in Novembre 1848.

The actors on the print are :
NakamuraBaika II (中村梅花) : Kahoru (かほる)
Ichimura Uzaemon XII : 吉田や喜三太
Nakamura Utaemon IV : 弁けい
Seki Sanjûrô III : 八丁つぶて喜平次
Nakamura Gennosuke II : 源のよしつね
Bandô Shuka I :  しづか御前


Kuniyoshi Utagawa (1797-1861), 歌川国芳, Son of a silk dyer, he was born in 1797 under the name of Yoshizo. In his youth, he probably assisted his father, providing the designs for the pieces to be dyed, and thus naturally oriented himself towards the world of art. He was accepted as a pupil by Toyokuni Utagawa in 1814. Later, he founded his his own school and his drawings became popular. Famous for his prints of actors and animals (especially cats that he adored), he owes his inspiration above all to legends, to the fantastic, poetic and warrior universe of which we find a strong influence in his work. He is the author of 10,000 prints and several series. The great earthquake of 1855, after which, returning home late, he was given for dead by his family and the members of his workshop, marks the end of his great period. Suffering from illness and depression, he now produces little. He died in Edo in 1861.