Kuniyoshi was born the son of a dyer, and his childhood name was Yoshisaburo. He loved to paint from an early age, and in 1808, when he was twelve years old, his painting of Shoki, the Demon Queller caught the eye of the popular painter Toyokuni Utagawa. Toyokuni created  depictions of actors (yakusha-e) and beautiful women (bijin-ga), and headed the Utagawa School, which had many disciples. With Toyokuni’s recognition, Kuniyoshi later entered the Utagawa School. Although he received the name Kuniyoshi within a few years, he toiled in obscurity for many years. During this period, Kuniyoshi became an admirer of elder Utagawa pupil Kuninao and became a guest in his house. However, his musha-e were occasionally well received, and he stored up the energy that would fuel his future successes.

After having a difficult time gaining public recognition, Kuniyoshi had finally hit it big with his Tsuzoku Suikoden Goketsu Hyakuhachinin no Hitori (“One Hundred and Eight Heroes from Tales of the Water Margin”) series, which was published in 1827. Suikoden (Water Margin) was a Chinese biographical novel that was translated in Edo and became popular to such a degree that adaptations were also published. In the midst of all this, Kuniyoshi’s work was well received for its powerful portrayal of the great heroes, which seemed to jump off the canvas. The beautiful tattoos on the bodies of the heroes are another feature of this work, and actually led to the popularity of tattoos among the people of Edo. More than 70 prints from this series are known to exist.

Ukiyo-e is an artistic genre that depicts ukiyo, or popular culture of the time, and Kuniyoshi was an artist who depicted the latest current events quite energetically. The subjects of his paintings included popular events held in Ryogoku and Asakusa, trendy kabuki performances by well-known actors, openings of temples and shrines, and many unusual incidents that occurred in Edo. Although Kuniyoshi developed palsy from a stroke after the Great Ansei Earthquake (1855), and could no longer create as he had before, he continued to produce musha-e and other output that constituted his lifework, as well as works that documented contemporary Edo until just before his death.

Japanese original text: Akira Watanabe (Senior Curator, Ota Memorial Museum of Art)