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Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Ō Shikyō, from the series Sixteen Charming Figures of Female Immortals, 1848

Utagawa Kuniyoshi

Vincent van Gogh was not only drawn to Hiroshige’s tranquil landscapes and Kunisada’s beautiful women, he also fell for the more explosive prints by Kuniyoshi.

This printmaker almost singlehandedly created the genre of portraits of warriors (musha-e). In the heroic stories depicted in these prints, he could give free rein to his unbridled imagination and creativity.

Exciting triptychs

Everything undulates and swirls in this spectacular triptych The Sacrifice of Yojibei. In his triptychs, we see Kuniyoshi at his finest. He made the best possible use of the three sheets to depict a tragic scene.

On the left-hand sheet, we see how the heroic soldier Yojibei sacrifices himself to the gods of the sea in order to bring an end to the storm that is plaguing the troops.

Utagawa Kuniyoshi, The Sacrifice of Yojibei, triptych, 1851

Utagawa Kuniyoshi, The Sacrifice of Yojibei, triptych, 1851

Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Tokiwa Gozen, from the series Legends of Wise and Chaste Women, 1842

Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Tokiwa Gozen, from the series Legends of Wise and Chaste Women, 1842

Heroines

Kuniyoshi broke with the tradition of depicting women as courtesans by offering a contrasting idealised female image: that of the heroine.

He depicted heroic women from history and mythology. Tokiwa Gozen was such a heroine. She fled from enemy troops through the wintry cold, protecting her children under her kimono.