Japan: 'Tsuchiyama: the Actor Ichikawa Kodanji IV as Akogi no Heiji', woodblock print by Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865), 1852

Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865), also known as Utagawa Toyokuni III, was the most popular and prolific designer of Ukiyo-e woodblock prints in 19th-century Japan. His reputation and financial success far exceeded those of his contemporaries.

Surprisingly, not many details of Kunisada's life are recorded, aside from a few well-established events. He was born in 1786 in Honjo, a district of Edo (now Tokyo), with the given name Sumida Shogoro IX. His family owned a fairly successful ferry-boat service, and he soon developed an artistic talent as he grew up. So impressive were his early sketches that he caught the eye of Toyokuni, great master of the Utagawa school, who soon took him as an apprentice.

His skills and renown quickly grew, and he became head of the Utagawa school in 1825, where he would teach and design woodblock prints until his death in 1865, having produced the largest collection of woodblock prints of any designer in 19th-century Japan.

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