Utagawa Yoshiiku

Kusunoki Shichiro, warrior in feudal samurai armour from the series: Taiheiki eiyuden (Heroes from the chronicles of the Taiheiki)

An original woodcut by the Japanese artist, Utagawa Yoshiiku, also known as Ochiai Yoshiiku, Kusunoki Shichiro, warrior in feudal samurai armour hails from the series: "Taihiki eiyuden (Heroes from the chronicles of the Taiheiki)". It is signed "Chokaro Yoshiiku ga" in the block and is printed on mid nineteenth century Japanese mulberry paper and with full margins as published by Hirookaya Kosuke (Hirokaya Kosuke) in 1867. Here, Yoshiiku depicts the feudal samurai known as, General Kusunoki Shichiro. Legend has it that Kusunoki Shichiro was the brother of Kusunoki Masashige, the famous samurai who pledged allegiance to Emperor Go-Daigo during the Genko War during the Kamakura period (governing period of the Kamakura shogunate). The chrysanthemum and water crest are the crest (kamon) of the Kusunoki clan. Today, a statue of Kusunoki Masashige stands outside the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. This striking woodcut is characteristic of the great warrior woodcuts of the 1860's.

Original woodcut by the 19th century Japanese artist, Utagawa Yoshiiku (Ochiai Yoshiiku).

Kusunoki Shichiro, warrior in feudal samurai armour from the series: Taiheiki eiyuden (Heroes from the chronicles of the Taiheiki)

View other Japanese woodcuts by Utagawa Yoshiiku.

Utagawa Yoshiiku, Utagawa 'Ochiai Yoshiiku' (Japan, 1833- 1904)
#	Image	Title & Artist	Medium	Date	Notes
01-		Actors, Ichimura Kakitsu & Nakamura Shikan as Street Musicians in the play Tamuke no Shikishi Kakitsu no Futsutsuka by Utagawa Yoshiiku	Two Original Japanese Woodcuts (Diptych)	1862	Published by Kagaya Kichibei of Ryogoku
02.-		Hori Kyutaro Hidemasa, a samurai in full armour from the series: Taiheiki eiyuden (Heroes from the chronicles of the Taiheiki) by Utagawa Yoshiiku	Original Japanese Woodcut	1867	Published by Hirookaya Kosuke (Hirokaya Kosuke)
03.-		Kusunoki Shichiro, warrior in feudal samurai armour from the series: Taiheiki eiyuden (Heroes from the chronicles of the Taiheiki) by Utagawa Yoshiiku	Original Japanese Woodcut	1867	Published by Hirookaya Kosuke (Hirokaya Kosuke)
04.-		Saito Izu no kami Toshimitsu, a samurai in battle with a warrior from the series: Taiheiki eiyuden (Heroes from the chronicles of the Taiheiki) by Utagawa Yoshiiku	Original Japanese Woodcut	1867	Published by Hirookaya Kosuke (Hirokaya Kosuke)

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Title:	Kusunoki Shichiro, warrior in feudal samurai armour (Heroes from the chronicles of the Taiheiki)
Artist:	Utagawa Yoshiiku, Utagawa 'Ochiai Yoshiiku' (Japan, 1833- 1904)
Date:	1867
Medium:	Original Japanese Woodcut
Publisher:	Hirookaya Kosuke (Hirokaya Kosuke)
Signed:	Chokaro Yoshiiku ga
Series:	Taiheiki Eiyuden (Heroes from the chronicles of the Taiheiki Eiyuden)
Note:	Utagawa Yoshiiku (Ochiai Yoshiiku): A fine 19th century Japanese artist of the Utagawa school, Yoshiiku is also known as 'Utagawa Yoshiiku', 'Ochiai Yoshiiku', 'Ikkeisai Yoshiiku', and 'Chokoaro'. Many of Japan's greatest woodcut artists of the latter half of the nineteenth century studied in the workshop of the master artist and designer, Kuniyoshi (1798-1861). The most notable were Yoshitoshi, Yoshiiku, Yoshitora, Yoshikazu and Yoshifuji. The 'Yoshi' prefix, in fact, was somewhat like a title which indicated that these artists belonged to Kuniyoshi's famous school. By the mid 1870's Yoshitoshi had risen to be the most famous artist of his era. Yet, for the decade following the death of Kuniyoshi (in 1861), the heir apparent to carry on his masterful warrior and actor woodcuts was Utagawa Yoshiiku.
	More than any of Kuniyoshi's pupils, Utagawa Yoshiiku continued the striking design elements of his master. These included powerful portrayals of motion and gesture combined with brilliant colour modulations. Yoshiiku's affinity to his master during this decade is reinforced by the fact that he was commissioned to create the important memorial woodcut portrait of Kuniyoshi shortly after his death.
	The Taiheiki Eiyuden (Heroes from the chronicles of the Taiheiki Eiyuden) was published in 1867 by Hirookaya Kosuke (Hirokaya Kosuke). The completed set consisted of one hundred chuban sized woodcuts, each depicting a famous warrior. The Chronicles of the Taiheiki was a fourteenth century epic covering one of the most troubled and violent epochs of Japanese history. In 1850 Kuniyoshi had designed his own set of woodcuts on this subject entitled, Heroes of the Taiheiki. The designs for this 1867 set were equally divided between Utagawa Yoshiiku (1833-1904) and Ichieisai Yoshitsuya (1822-1867). As both were major students of Kuniyoshi, these woodcuts bear some stylistic similarities to the earlier set.
	Under Kuniyoshi and his pupils, the Warrior print reached its summit during the 1850's and 1860's. In part, impetus for these works of art came from the political and social events of the times. Japan witnessed a series of minor civil wars which led finally to the defeat of the Shogun and the restoration of the monarchy (1868). As well unease over the arrival of Western powers was felt throughout the land. The portrayal of the warrior hero thus assumed great prominence in Japanese woodcut art.
	This original Yoshiiku warrior woodcut depicts the feudal samurai warrior known as, General Kusunoki Shichiro. According to the book entitled, The Human Record, Sources of Global History: Fourth Edition, Volume I To 1700, by Alfred J. Andrea & James H. Overfield, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, New York, Chapter: The Ideal Samurai 68. Chronicle of the Grand Pacification, pages 276-278, Kusunoki Shichiro was the brother of Kusunoki Masashige, the famous samurai warrior who pledged allegiance to Emperor Go-Daigo in the Genko War during the Kamakura period (governing period of the Kamakura shogunate). During this period, it was not unusual, as it was often recognized as a class distinction, for family members to depicted the clan crest or emblem (mon, kamon, mondokoro, monsho) or variations of it on their garments, household items, armors, and weapons. The crest visible in the samurai's kimono in this original woodcut is the chrysanthemum and water kamon of the Kusunoki clan. Today, a statue of Kusunoki Masashige stands outside the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. Ichiyusai Kuniyoshi created a woodcut (triptych), dealing with the Kusunoki clan entitled, Fight to the Death of Heroic Samurai of the Kusunoki Clan at Shijo Nawate (1847-1852).
	Kusunoki Shichiro, warrior in feudal samurai armour hails from the series: "Taihiki eiyuden (Heroes from the chronicles of the Taiheiki)". It is characteristic of the great warrior woodcuts of the 1860's. As the Meiji period (1868-1912) began, the art of the Japanese woodcut fell under the influence of Western trends. Thus this woodcut, with its wonderful form and movement, is indicative of the last great work of the famous classic art of Kuniyoshi and his school.
Size:	9 7/8 X 7 (Sizes in inches are approximate, height preceding width of plate-mark or image.)
	Matted with 100% Archival Materials
Buy Now	Price: $395.00 US
Condition:	Printed on mid nineteenth century Japanese mulberry (rice) paper and with full margins as published by Hirookaya Kosuke (Hirokaya Kosuke) in 1867 for the Taiheiki eiyuden (Heroes from the chronicles of the Taiheiki eiyuden). Signed "Chokaro Yoshiiku ga" in the block. Containing slight scuffing in the margins, else a richly printed impression and in excellent condition throughout. Kusunoki Shichiro, warrior in feudal samurai armour represents a superb example of the 19th century art of the warrior woodcut.
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