11 Facts About Utagawa Kuniyoshi

Utagawa Kuniyoshi was one of the last great masters of the Japanese ukiyo-e style of woodblock prints and painting.

Utagawa Kuniyoshi is known for depictions of the battles of legendary samurai heroes.

Utagawa Kuniyoshi's artwork incorporated aspects of Western representation in landscape painting and caricature.

Utagawa Kuniyoshi was officially admitted to Toyokuni's studio in 1811, and became one of his chief pupils.

Utagawa Kuniyoshi remained an apprentice until 1814, at which time he was given the name "Kuniyoshi" and set out as an independent artist.

Utagawa Kuniyoshi continued to produce warrior prints, drawing much of his subjects from war tales such as Tale of the Heike and The rise and fall of the Minamoto and the Taira.

Utagawa Kuniyoshi produced during this time works of purely natural subject matter, notably of animals, birds and fish that mimicked traditional Japanese and Chinese painting.

In 1856 Utagawa Kuniyoshi suffered from palsy, which caused him much difficulty in moving his limbs.

Utagawa Kuniyoshi died at the age of 63 in April 1861 in his home in Genyadana.

Takashi Murakami credits the pioneering influence of Utagawa Kuniyoshi affecting his work.

Utagawa Kuniyoshi's work is held in the permanent collections of many museums worldwide, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Princeton University Art Museum, the Nasher Museum of Art, the University of Michigan Museum of Art, the Walters Art Museum, the Portland Art Museum, the Seattle Art Museum, the Birmingham Museum of Art, the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, the Indianapolis Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Museum, and the Van Gogh Museum.