Utagawa Kunimasu

was a designer of ukiyo-e woodblock prints in Osaka who was active during the late Edo period. He was a leading producer of kamigata-e, prints from the Osaka and Kyoto areas. He is also known as Sadamasu [貞升], the artist name he used prior to Kunimasu.

Biography Very little is known of Kunimasa's personal details, including his birth and death dates. Art historians tend to date his activity to the early 1830s through the early 1850s. An 1835 'Who's who' type catalogue from the Naniwa area of Osaka describes him as "a master" of ukiyo-e, indicating that he was already a well-established artist by the early 1830s. Other manuscripts from the mid 1840s list him as living in the Senba [船場] district of Osaka. before himself mentoring several pupils and opening his own print design school. What is certain is that he enjoyed considerable financial freedom and used it to promote ukiyo-e and its producers within Osaka.

Names

As per convention, the artist was known by a number of names throughout his career: Artist names: Sadamasu [貞升] (1832–1848), Kunimasu [國升 (occasionally 國益)] (5/1848- ) Personal name: Kaneya/ Kanaya Wasaburō [金屋 和三郎] Studio Name: Kanaya/ Kaneya [金屋] Gō: Gochōsai [五蝶斎], Gochōtei [五蝶亭], Gofukutei [五蝠亭], Ichiensai [一園斎], Ichijuen [一樹園], Ichijusai [一樹斎], Ichijutei [一樹亭], Yukimasu [行升] Art surname: Utagawa [歌川] Seals: Hatakumi, Sada, Sadamasu, Utagawa, Utagawa Kunimasu, Wasa In 1846 or earlier, he began signing prints as Kunimasu in homage to Kunisada who had taken the name Toyokuni in 1844. The name change could not, however, be made official until 1848 and the lifting of the Tenpō Reforms. format.

Critics tend to admire Kunimasu's "sense of colour and... fine palette dominated by intense colours with subtle contrasts," as well as the "bold directness" of his lines. Kunimasu in particular is credited with "expressing the psychology of stage performance through powerful and varied physiognomies and vivid or unusual placements of the figures in his compositions."

In 1852, Kunimasu and his student Hirosada visited Edo, where they joined with other pupils of Kunisada in creating background designs for a series of half-length actor portraits. Soon after returning to Kamigata, Kunimasu turned his back on ukiyo-e and took up painting. He ended his artistic career producing paintings in the style of the Shijō school, known for its blending of Japanese tradition with Western realism.