| Biography | Ukiyo-e artist. Disciple of Toyokuni Utagawa III (Kunisada Utagawa). Early in his career, he created many illustrations for such mediums as yomihon (printed novel) and gokan (bound volumes). In time, he became active in a wide variety of genres, such as beauty prints, landscape prints and warrior prints. In the late Edo era, he referenced the Port of Yokohama that had opened its door to international trade, and published a great number of Yokohama prints that depicted the figures of foreigners and their customs and manners. Ten of his works were exhibited in the ukiyo-e section of the Japanese Pavilion at the 1867 Paris Exposition, and were highly appraised. In his mid-forties, he traveled all the way from the Tokaido (eastern sea region) to the southernmost island of Kyushu, while also depicting landscapes in various places along the way. He excelled in creating an accurate, birds-eye-view-style of work; thus, he also produced such mediums as maps. |