Begonias of Mount Ashigara (Ashigarayama no shukaido): Bando Hikosaburo V as Yamauba, from the series "Contemporary Versions of Thirty-six Selected Flowers (Tosei mitate sanjurokkasen)"
Medium
Color woodblock print; chirimen-e
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
131716
Art Historical Context
In the vibrant world of 19th-century Japanese ukiyo-e, Utagawa Kunisada (also known as Toyokuni) crafted this exquisite color woodblock print in 1862. Titled *Begonias of Mountigara (Ashigarayama no shukaido): Bando Hikosaburo V as Yamauba*, it belongs to the series *Contemporary of Thirty-six Selected FlowersTosei mitate sanjurokkasen)*. This playful mitate—or analogy—reimagines the classical *Thirty-six Immortals of Poetry* by pairing flowers with celebrated kabuki actors, blending floral beauty with theatrical portraiture during the late Edo period. The print features kabuki star Bando Hik...
About the Artist
Utagawa Kunisada I (Toyokuni III) · 1786–1864
Utagawa Kunisada I, also known as Toyokuni III (1786–1865), was born Sumida Shōgorō in the Honjo district of Edo (modern Tokyo) into a family that operated a hereditary ferry-boat service, providing stability after his father's early death. Displaying prodigious talent in drawing from childhood, he became an apprentice to the master Utagawa Toyokuni I around 1801 at age fifteen, entering the prest...