UTAGAWA KUNIYOSHI

original name Igusa Magosaburo born Jan. 1, 1798, Kanda, Edo [now Tokyo] died April 14, 1861, Edo Japanese painter and printmaker of the ukiyo-e (pictures of the floating world) movement. Like his rival Utagawa Kunisada, Kuniyoshi was a pupil of Utagawa Toyokuni. He established his fame as the designer of musha-e (warrior prints) with his series of prints entitled Tsuzoku Suikoden goketsu hyakuhachinin (One Hundred and Eight Popular Warrior Heroes from Shui-hu ch'uan), published in about 1827. He also produced landscapes, frequently using Western perspective. Among the most famous of these are the 10-print series Toto meisho (Famous Sights of Edo) and the five-print series Toto Fujimi sanjurokkei (Thirty-six Sites in Edo Overlooking Mount Fuji).