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Kitawaga Utamaro

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  1. Japanese gods of fortune with female attendants by Kitawaga Utamaro, Image 1.

    Kitawaga Utamaro

    Japanese gods of fortune with female attendants, 1810

    Woodblock

    14.9 x 9.875 in

  2. Hana-ogi in Geisha House Ogi-ya by Kitawaga Utamaro, Image 1.

    Kitawaga Utamaro

    Hana-ogi in Geisha House Ogi-ya, Late 19th century

    Woodblock

    14.625 x 10.125 in

Kitagawa Utamaro, original name Kitagawa Nebsuyoshi, was born in 1753 in Edo (Tokyo), Japan. Utamaro was a painter and printmaker of the Ukiyo-e movement ("pictures of the floating world"). While in Edo, under the name of Toyoaki, he painted and designed woodblock prints of women, as well as taking on nature studies and publishing many illustrated books, of which Gahon chusen (1788; "Insects") is best known. Around 1791, Utamaro no longer designed prints for books and, instead, concentrated on single portraits of women rather than women in groups which was common of other Ukiyo-e artists. In 1804, at the peak of his success, created prints depicting the military ruler Toyotomi Hideyoshi's wife and concubines. However, Hideyoshi took the gesture as an insult to his dignity and ordered Utamaro to be handcuffed for fifty days. This emotional experience was too much for Utamaro to handle and ended his career as an artist. Some of his best known woodblock print series include, Fu ninsogaku jittai (Ten Physiognomies of Women), and Seiro juni-toki (Twelve Hours at the Gay Quarters).