Time Present and Time Past: Images of a Forgotten Master: Toyohara Kunichika 1835-1900

Newland, Amy Reigle; with an essay by Oikawa, Shigeru

ISBN 10: 9074822118 / ISBN 13: 9789074822114

Published by Hotei Publishing, Leiden, 1999

About this Item

English text; Hardcover (with dust jacket); 29.5 x 29.5 cm; 1.7 kg; 175 pages with colour illustrations.; Minor signs of wear on the exterior and interior. The dust jacket show signs of wear, namely some minor scratches and wear signs. Interior in very good condition. Very good condition overall.; The Japanese woodblock-print designer Toyohara Kunichika (1835-1900) was active during the second half of the 19th century when Japan experienced immense political, social and cultural changes following the restoration of imperial rule under the Meiji emperor. Many traditional arts were challenged by this new age and the art of the woodblock print (ukiyo-e), unable to continue as it once had, entered into its final period. In the past, scholars and collectors have frequently dismissed ukiyo-e print designers in this area as insignificant, representing the dernise of the ukiyo-e tradition. However, in recent years the prints of a number of these artists have been re- evaluated. Time present and time past: images of a forgotten master, Toyohara Kunichika (1835- 1900) is the first publication in English to treat in detail the life and work of Kunichika, who is considered today one of the last ukiyo-e masters. Kunichika's designs were drawn from established ukiyo-e genres. Ranging from actor prints (yakusha-e), prints of beautiful women (bijinga) to sumo and historical scenes. However, Kunichika was also a man of his time and this is reflected in his use of colour, composition and subjects. In Time present and time past, author Amy Reigle Newland draws on Japanese and Western- language sources to present an overview of Kunichika's life and his prints. She provides a biographical sketch of Kunichika's life, which is followed by sections on the artists prints of beautiful women and actors. In addition the Japanese scholar Shigeru Oikawa presents an essay on Kunichika's fruitful collaboration with the flamboyant painter Kawanabe Ky?sai (1831-89). The illustration of over 135 prints by Kunichika, an extensive bibliography, appendices containing carvers seals and Kunichika's representative signature forms make Time present and time past an important contribution to our understanding of this little-known Meiji-period print artist.

Seller Inventory # 1117B

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Time Present and Time Past: Images of a Forgotten Master: Toyohara Kunichika 1835-1900
• Publisher: Hotei Publishing, Leiden
• Publication Date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 9074822118
• ISBN 13: 9789074822114
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Dust Jacket Included
• Seller catalogs:
  • Japanese Art
  • Asian Art

About this title

Synopsis

"Times Present and Time Past" is the first publication in English to treat the life and work of Toyohara Kunichika, currently considered one of the last Ukiyo-e masters. Kunichika's designs were drawn from established Ukiyo-e genres such as Kabuki actor prints ("yakusha-e") and prints of beautiful women ("bijinga"); however, his modern approach to color, composition and subject proves that he was a man of his time. The book includes reproductions of 135 of Kunichika's prints, an extensive bibliography and an overview of signatures and carvers' seals.

About the Author

Amy Reigle Newland has worked as a specialist editor and writer on Japanese woodblock prints for some fifteen years, with a particular interest in works of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In either and editorial and/or authorial role, her publications include Japanese Erotic Fantasies: Sexual Imagery of the Edo Period (2005), Printed to Perfection: Twentieth-century Japanese Prints from the Robert O. Muller Collection (2004), A Courtesan’s Day: Hour by Hour (2004), The Commercial and Cultural Climate of Japanese Printmaking (2004), Kawase Hasui: The Complete Woodblock Prints (2003), Crows, Cranes & Camellias: The Natural World of Ohara Koson 1877-1945 (2001), Time Present and Time Past: Images of a Forgotten Master – Toyohara Kunichika 1835-1900 (1999), Heroes & Ghosts: Japanese Prints by Utagawa Kuniyoshi 1797-1861 (1998), and The New Wave: Twentieth-century Japanese Prints from the Robert O. Muller Collection (1993). The Hotei Encyclopedia of Japanese Woodblock Prints (2005) is her most ambitious project to date, one which was coordinated from her home in rural New Zealand where she lives with her husband, son and flock of sheep.