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Utagawa
Kuniyoshi belongs, together with Hiroshige and Kunisada, to the most famous
artists of the Ukiyo-e school in this time.
The subjects he painted and printed hold a wide
range from theatrical-scenes to women, lords,
warriors and heroes, landscapes, animals etc.
Kuniyoshi
was born on January 1st, 1798. From about 1810 to1814 he was a pupil of Toyokuni
l, the titular head of the Utagawa school. In 1814 he set up as an independent
artist and his first book was published in the
same year. In 1827 he started to publish his
Suikoden or 'Hundred and eight Chinese Heroes'
series, which was a great success and established
him firmly in the public favour.
From
about 1844 to 1850 Kuniyoshi was in his prime
and his production was enormous. He had achieved
independence and maturity, and he was very popular.
In this time he published one of his most popular
sets: the Taiheiki Eiyuden, a series of fifty
war-lords and warriors of the sixteenth century's
civil wars, in which the leading figures were
Oda Nobunaga (1534 - 1582) and Toyotomi Hideyoshi
(1536 - 1598).
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