Biography

Ukiyo-e artist. Disciple of Toyokuni Utagawa. From around 1807, created illustrations for gokan (bound volumes), as well as nishiki-e (multicolored prints). He was the most popular ukiyo-e artist of the late Edo era (1603-1868). His bijin-ga (beauty prints) adopted a drawing style of women that was chic, enchantingly beautiful, and that conveyed a strong sentiment of the masses, which reflected the society of the time. His beauty print series included “Thirty-two Physiognomic Types in the Modern World” and “Mirror of Modern Makeup.” In his actor prints, he inherited his master Toyokuni’s style, while also originating a new “beauty of the style,” with a rich sense of vitality and dynamism, such as in the large-format “yakusha okubi-e” (large-headed, actor print) series “Great Hit Plays.” He created actor prints throughout his career, and was a leading artist both quality and quantity wise. His illustrations for Tanehiko Ryutei’s novel “Nise Murasaki inaka Genji” (“A Fake Murasaki and a Rural Genji”), published in bound volumes, created a “The Tale of Genji” trend.