Utagawa Kuniyoshi

Utagawa Kuniyoshi was one of the leading masters of the Japanese woodblock print, celebrated for his inventive engagement with warrior subjects, beauties, landscapes, and poetry. His prints are typically cut in ink and color on paper, often in the large ōban format known as nishiki-e, with smaller surimono and multi-sheet triptychs also represented among his achievements. This archive gathers 77 of his works, ranging across the frequent single-sheet woodblock prints, a handful of ōban nishiki-e and surimono designs, a pair of triptychs, and an album of 98 prints after the Ogura Imitations of One Hundred Poems by One Hundred Poets. The sheets carry dates from 1797 through 1859, with impressions up to that later limit reflecting continued printing of his designs.

77 works in the collection · All public domain (CC0)

Roshungi (Chinese, Lu Zhunyi) as a Woman with a Pipe Riding on a Buffalo

· Woodblock print (surimono); ink and color on paper

Book of Humorous Poems (Kyōka shū)

· Ink on paper

Theatrical Scene

1797–1861 · Woodblock print (surimono); ink and color on paper

Illustration of Poem by the Emperor Kwoko

1797–1861 · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Picture of Mitsumata

1797–1861 · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Seaweed Gatherers at Omori

1797–1861 · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Onmayagashi in Edo

1830–44 · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Concise Illustrated Biography of Monk Nichiren: Rock Suspended by the Power of Prayer on Komuro Mountain

1835–36 · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Concise Illustrated Biography of Monk Nichiren: Prayer for Rain Answered at Ryōzengasaki in Kamakura

1835–36 · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Concise Illustrated Biography of Monk Nichiren: Calming the Stormy Sea at Tsunoda in Exile to Sado Island

1835–36 · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Concise Illustrated Biography of Monk Nichiren: In Snow at Tsukahara on Sado Island

1835–36 · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Monk Nichiren in Exile on Sado Island, from the series "Illustration of Famous Monks"

1835–36 · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Water Scene

1840 · Woodblock print (surimono); ink and color on paper

Oiso, Odawara, Hakone, Mishima, Numazu

1840 · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Minakuchi, Ishibe, Kusatsu, Otsu, Kyoto

1840 · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Ghosts of the Taira at Daimotsu Bay

1843–47 · Triptych of woodblock-printed books (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper

The Poet's Cabin in Tatsumi

1845 · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Lady of the Evening Faces (Yūgao): Yazama's Wife Orie (Yazama-shi no shitsu Orie), from the series Scenes amid Genji Clouds Matched with Ukiyo-e Pictures (Genji-gumo ukiyo e-awase)

1845–46 · Woodblock ōban print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper

A Boat Cast Adrift (Ukifune): Omatsu and Akabori Mizuemon

1845–46 · Woodblock ōban print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper

“A Lovely Garland” (Tamakazura): Tamatori-ama, from the series Scenes amid Genji Clouds Matched with Ukiyo-e Pictures (Genji-gumo ukiyo e-awase)

1845–46 · Woodblock ōban print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper

Portrait of Sugino Juheiji Tsugifusa

1852 · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Portrait of Kansake Yagoro Noriyasu

1852 · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Portrait of Oboshi Yuranosuke Yoshio (The Leader)

1852 · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Portrait of Muramatsu Sandayu Takanao

1852 · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Portrait of Yada Gorosaemon Suketake

1852 · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Portrait of Yokogawa Kanhei Munenori

1852 · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Portrait of Ushioda Masanojo Takano

1852 · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Portrait of Tominomori Sukeyemon Masakata

1852 · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Portrait of Oribe Yahei Kanamaru

1852 · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Portrait of Yoshida Sayaemon Kanesada

1852 · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Portrait of Yato Fumoshichi Norikane

1852–53 · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Recovering the Stolen Jewel from the Palace of the Dragon King

1853 · Triptych of woodblock prints; ink and color on paper

Tanmeijirō Genshōgo Fighting Under Water

1856, 2nd month · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Album of Ninety-eight Prints from the series Ogura Imitations of One Hundred Poems by One Hundred Poets (Ogura nazorae hyakunin isshu)

19th century · Album of 98 woodblock prints; ink and color on paper

Three Beauties Playing Musical Instruments

19th century · Matted; ink and color on silk

Boys Play-acting a Daimyo Procession

19th century · Pentaptych of woodblock prints; ink and color on paper

Princess Yaegaki

19th century · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Zhu Shouchang

19th century · Woodblock print; ink on thin paper (some corrections have been pasted over the drawing)

Craftsman by the Twelve Sign of Zodiac (19th century, Met-Objekt 4677)

19th century · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Craftsman by the Twelve Sign of Zodiac (19th century, Met-Objekt 4678)

19th century · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Print (19th century, Met-Objekt 4679)

19th century · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Hakoōmaru, Buyū chikara-gusa

19th century · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Woodblock Print

19th century · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Print (19th century, Met-Objekt 4682)

19th century · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Print (19th century, Met-Objekt 4683)

19th century · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Print (19th century, Met-Objekt 4684)

19th century · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Print (19th century, Met-Objekt 4685)

19th century · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Tale of Eight Dogs (Hakkenden)

[1853, (Kaei 6)] · Set of two woodblock printed books; ink and color on paper

Volume 3 of Unknown Erotic (Shunga) Set (Tōsei komonchō)

after 1859 · Woodblock printed book; ink and color on paper

Travelling in a Snowstorm

ca. 1830 · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Girl Filling a Bucket with Sea Water

ca. 1830 · Woodblock print (surimono); ink and color on paper

Inuzaka Keno Tanetomo from Story of Eight Dogs (Hakkenden)

ca. 1830 · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Asakusa Imado

ca. 1840 · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Wayfarers Looking at the Statue of Jizo Bosatsu in a Pine Grove at Hashiba

ca. 1840 · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Tang Furen, from the series Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety

ca. 1840 · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Nichiren in Snow at Tsukahara, Sodo Province

ca. 1840 · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

A Child’s Mirror of the Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety: Yang Xiang (Yō Kō)

ca. 1843 · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Autumn, from the series Women’s Pleasures of the Four Seasons

ca. 1844–46 · Triptych of woodblock prints; ink, silver, and color on paper

Poet with Two Pages on the Banks of the Tatsuta

ca. 1845 · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

A Branch of Plum (Umegoe)

ca. 1845–46 · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Evening Faces

ca. 1845–46 · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

The Jeweled Chaplet

ca. 1845–46 · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

The First Warbler

ca. 1845–46 · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

A Boat upon the Waters

ca. 1845–46 · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

“Little Purple Gromwell” (Wakamurasaki): Shōshō, from the series Scenes amid Genji Clouds Matched with Ukiyo-e Pictures (Genji-gumo ukiyo e-awase)

ca. 1845–61 · Woodblock ōban print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper

A Molted Cicada Shell (Utsusemi): Soga Gorō Tokimune

ca. 1845–61 · Woodblock ōban print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper

“Exile to Suma” (Suma): Tamaori-hime

ca. 1845–61 · Woodblock ōban print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper

Horimoto Gidayū Takatoshi

ca. 1848 · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Akashi Ridayu Hidemoto

ca. 1848 · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Scene from a Ghost Story: The Okazaki Cat Demon

ca. 1850 · Diptych of woodblock prints; ink and color on paper

Women Near a River

ca. 1850 · Triptych of woodblock prints; ink, silver, and color on paper

View of Mt. Asama from the Usui Pass (ca. 1850, Met-Objekt 4652)

ca. 1850 · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

View of Mt. Asama from the Usui Pass (ca. 1850, Met-Objekt 4653)

ca. 1850 · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Lady-in-Waiting at Edo Castle

ca. 1854–60 (Ansei era) · Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk

Paragons of Filial Piety (from a set of twenty-four)

mid-19th century · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Ochanomizu in the Rain

mid-19th century · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Two Brothers Zhang Xiao and Zhang Li

mid-19th century · Woodblock print; ink on thin paper