woodblock print – Utagawa Kuniteru (act. ca. 1830-1874) -“Dai Nihon oozumou sekitori kagami”大日本大相撲関取鏡(Mirror of Powerful Professional Sumo Wrestlers in Japan )- Japan – 1900 (Meiji 33)

Description

woodblock print – Utagawa Kuniteru (act. ca. 1830-1874) -“Dai Nihon oozumou sekitori kagami”大日本大相撲関取鏡(Mirror of Powerful Professional Sumo Wrestlers in Japan )- Japan – 1900 (Meiji 33)

This ukiyo-e was originally a series of six. But there are 7 of them. The last 7th piece is the one added later.
Kuniteru died in 1874, but this work was made after Kuniteru’s death.

Utagawa Yoshitora is name ‘Ichi yusai Kuniteru-e’ 一雄斎国輝画” in his signature.

A disciple of the third generation Kunisada Toyokuni.he took on Utagawa as a surname, and also used the surname Ichi yusai(一雄斎),Ichiyousai(一曜斎),Yousai(曜斎),

From around Bunkyu(1861-1864), he started drawing activities under the name of the second generation Utagawa Kunitsuna(歌川国綱II) or Ichiransai Kunitsuna(一蘭斎国綱). It is believed that he changed his name to Kuniteru(国輝) around the first year of Keio (1865). In the days of Kunitsuna’s name, he was active in caricatures, street objects, and actor paintings. Since he became Kuniteru, he has drawn kaika-e such as “Tokyo Famous Places(東京名勝)” and “Tokyo Scenic Beauty(東京名所図会)”, including “Tokyo Twelve Views(東京十二景)”, a collaboration with the fourth generation Utagawa Kunimasa. There are quite a lot of railroad pictures such as “Tokyo Shiodome Railway Steam Locomotive Traffic(東京汐留鉄道蒸気車通行図)”, and the depiction of the steam locomotive is drawn by observing it much more precisely than other painters.