Kawanabe Kyosai

Kyosai was an amazing artist and worked in many genres and styles, these include traditional, formal paintings, woodblock print designs, humorous sketches and informal paintings.

Here are 5 interesting facts about Kyosai.

  1. At the age of nine he picked up a human head in the Kanda river
  2. He studied under Utagawa Kuniyoshi and later studied painting at the Kano school, there he was given the nickname “the painting demon”.
  3. He was arrested three times for his political paintings.
  4. Kyōsai is considered by many to be the greatest successor of Hokusai and the first political caricaturist of Japan.
  5. A crater on Mercury has been named in his honor.
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Kyosai's Famous Print Series

Kyosai wasn't as prolific as many of his fellow ukiyo-e artists, but what he did produce clearly demonstrated his unique creativity and skill as an artist. Below are 3 different print series for which he was well known.

famous print series

Kyosai Rakuga

In 1874 we have one of his most sought after print series "Kyosai Rakuga", or drawings for pleasure by Kyosai. This is one of the most popular prints in the series "Jigoku Daiyu" or “The Hell Courtesan”. She is happily dreaming of skeletons at play. Just look at all the elements in Kyosai’s compostion, you can spend ages getting lost in this. I read that 15 prints were planned but only 12 are known.

FAMOUS PRINT SERIES

Kyosai Gadan

In 1887 Kyosai produced his 4 volume tretsie on painting "Kyosai Gadan". The Gadan has scenes from his life, like the great fires in Edo, and his arrest by the authorities. It has a section on human anatomy from a western style approach, pages on other famous artist's styles, and wonderful images of all types of animals. And it wouldn’t be Kyosai without a large section on monsters, demons, myths and legends.

famous print series

Processional Tokaido

In 1863 Kyosai was invited to create prints for the "Gyōretsu Tōkaidō", or Processional Tokaido series. This print series illustrates the Shogun’s procession from Edo to Kyoto on the Tokaido road to pay respect to the emperor. This is Tukishima Temple in Hyogo prefecture look at the deep perspective and the winding procession of the Shogun and his retainers.

Featured Kyosai Prints - Available Now

As of this writing, these original Kyosai prints are available for purchase from Mie Gallery. We encourage you to compare our pricing with similar prints from other galleries. In addition we have over 40 other prints by ukiyo-e master Kawanabe Kyosai.

Kyosai - Miho no Matsubara - Gyoretsu Tokaido

Kyosai - Miho no Matsubara - Gyoretsu Tokaido

Kyosai - Miho no Matsubara - Gyoretsu Tokaido

$310.00 USD
$310.00 USD
Kawanabe Kyosai Illustrated Book Print

Kawanabe Kyosai Illustrated Book Print

Kawanabe Kyosai Illustrated Book Print

$95.00 USD
$95.00 USD
Kyosai - Big Fire in Edo

Kyosai - Big Fire in Edo

Kyosai - Big Fire in Edo

$275.00 USD
$275.00 USD

Kawanabe Kyosai Videos

  • Who Was Kyosai?

    A great intro to the genius, eccentric artist Kawanabe Kyosai. We discuss his life and explore his prints and paintings.

    View on YouTube 

  • The Mystery of the Kyosai Scroll

    A unique hand-painted scroll leads to an interesting journey of coincidence, painting parties, and mystery.

    View on YouTube 

  • Unboxing Woodblock Prints

    In this woodblock print unboxing video we open two boxes of prints won at auction. Each box contains original prints by artists including Kyosai.

    View on YouTube 

Kawanabe Kyosai Prints.

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