Unparalleled Ukiyo-e Artist, Utagawa Kuniyoshi

June 9, 2011

Unparalleled Ukiyo-e Artist, Utagawa Kuniyoshi

Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on June 2011 On the 150th Anniversary of Kuniyoshi Utagawa’s death, the renowned ukiyo-e printmaker is seeing a renewed wave of attention. In Japan, his trippy images of ghosts and demons are credited for helping spark the current “specter boom,” while overseas the artist has recently been the subject of retrospectives […]

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Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on June 2011

Courtesy of Ukiyo-E Ota Memorial Museum Of Art

On the 150th Anniversary of Kuniyoshi Utagawa’s death, the renowned ukiyo-e printmaker is seeing a renewed wave of attention. In Japan, his trippy images of ghosts and demons are credited for helping spark the current “specter boom,” while overseas the artist has recently been the subject of retrospectives in New York and London. The new two-part Tokyo show offers a broad overview of the late-Edo era artist, beginning with his vivid images of specters and warriors, and wrapping up with his later experimentations in caricature and Western-style illustration.

Ukiyo-e Ota Memorial Museum of Art, until Jul 28, free (MS and under)/¥700 (HS, univ)/¥1,000 (general). Open Tue-Sun 10:30am-5:30pm, closed Mon. 1-10-10 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku. Nearest stn: Harajuku. Tel: 03-5777-8600. www.ukiyoe-ota-muse.jp