Urakusai Nagahide

Urakusai Nagahide (Japanese: 有楽斎 長秀), was a designer of ukiyo-e style Japanese woodblock prints who was active from about 1804 to about 1848. He is also known as Yūrakusai Nagahide (有楽斎 長秀), Nakamura Nagahide (中邑 長秀 or 中村 長秀), Chōshū (長秀), and as Chōshūsai (長秀斎). “Nagahide” and “Chōshū” are written with the same kanji. The ending “sai” means studio or hall, and is added or omitted at will by many Japanese artists. According to some historians, the studio name "Urakusai" may refer to his having lived near the ruins of the manor of Oda Urakusai.

Nagahide worked in both Kyoto and Osaka. His early prints resemble those of his teacher Ryūkōsai Jokei, but were also influenced by Shōkōsai Hanbei. Over the course of three decades, Nagahide's rendering of actor likenesses moved from Ryūkōsai's influence toward a more personal approach, becoming particularly evident in his ōban nishiki-e, in which his style grew more curvilinear and flowing, in keeping with the broader trend in Kamigata printmaking from the late 1810s onward. From the 1810s to the 1830s, Nagahide was the most prolific designer of stencil prints (kappazuri) depicting the annual costume parade in the Gion district of Kyoto, His students include Nagashige, Hidekatsu, Hidekuni, Hidemari, and Naniwa Nagakuni.

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