Ryusai Shigeharu
Ryūsai Shigeharu (柳窗重春/柳斎重春) (1802–1853) was an
Biography
Shigeharu was born Yamaguchi Yasuhide in Hizen Province, Nagasaki in 1802 (year 2 of Kyōwa). His father, Yamaguchi Zenzaemon (山口善右衛門) operated the Ōshima-ya (大島屋) money changing business. He moved to the Mitsudera-machi (三津寺町) district of Osaka around 1820, to study printmaking with his first mentor, Utagawa (Takigawa) Kunihiro (歌川国広) (fl. c.1815-1841).[1] His next teacher was Yanagawa Shigenobu (柳川重信) (1787–1832), with whom he collaborated on several major projects. Some have suggested that Shigeharu also studied under master print designer Hokusai; however, there is no definitive evidence to support this.[2] As was the custom for ukiyo-e artists, Shigeharu used various
Life dates | c.1802-1853 |
Career dates | c.1820-1849 |
Birth name | Yamaguchi Yasuhide [安秀] |
Personal name | Yamaguchi Jinjirō [山口甚治郎] |
Gō[9] | Nagasaki Kunishige [長崎国重] (1821), Kunishige [国重], Nagasaki Shigeharu [長崎重春] (1821), Baigansai Kunishige [梅丸斎国重] (1821), Takigawa Kunishige [滝川国重] (1825), Ryūsai Shigeharu [柳窗重春/柳斎重春] (1825), Gyokuryūtei [玉柳亭] (1830), Gyokuryūtei Shigeharu [玉柳亭重春] (c. 1830-32), Gokuryūsai Shigeharu [玉柳斎重春] |
Professional names[10] | Yamaguchi Shigeharu [山口重春], Hōzan Shigeharu [烽山重春], Kiyoutei [崎陽亭], Nichika [日華] |
Seals | Ryū [柳], Yamaguchi-uji Shigeharu [山口氏重春],[11] Haru [春][12] |
Mentors | Utagawa Kunihiro, Yanagawa Shigenobu |
Pupils | Shigenao, Shigefusa, Shigeyasu, Shigetoyo, Shigeyoshi, Shigehiro, Shigemasa |
Works
In the Bunsei (文政) era (4/1818-12/1830), Shigeharu began working in various media including single-sheet prints, book illustration, theater billboards and programs, and paintings.[13] His artistic output is generally dated to the period c.1820-1849, with the years 1829-1831 marking the peak of his work in ichimai-e (一枚絵) single-sheet print design.[14] There are several blank periods in his career from which no or very few prints are known, including mid-1822 through mid-1825 and 1838.
From 1831 on, Shigeharu provided illustrations for a number of books including The Three Kingdoms of Actors' Customs Yakusha fūzoku sangokushi (役者風俗三国志). The work he did with his master, Shigenobu, on a book of fashionable patterns in courtesan clothing (Ryūko moyō chakui tayū no zu (竜虎紋様着衣太夫の図)) earned him particular acclaim.[15] He also collaborated on book illustrations with the artists Gion Seitoku (祇園井特) and Mihata Jōryū (三畠上龍).[16] He frequently worked in association with the Tenki (天喜) or Tenmaya Kihei (天満屋喜兵衛) publishing house.[17] Operating under the firm name Kinkadō (金華堂), Tenki was active from 1816 into the 1850s.[18]
Reputation
Contemporary estimations of Shigeharu's work tend to be favourable. According to a compendium of Osaka gossip published in 1835, Shigeharu was "good at everything." A manuscript of artist biographies from the mid-1840s characterizes him as "better than the rest," and notes his professional status.[19] Modern critics, however, have been less positive, describing him as "an indifferent artist".[20] This notwithstanding, Shigeharu was, if not the only professional ukiyo-e artist working in Osaka in the late nineteenth-century, one of the very few on the amateur-dominated scene.[21]
Collections
Ryūsai Shigeharu's work is found in many collections, including the following:
- "MFA Boston".
- "The Pushkin".
- "The British Museum".
- The ROM
- "The Walters Art Museum".
- "Brooklyn Museum".
- "Honolulu Museum".
- "Rijksmuseum".
See also
- Actor Arashi Rikan II as Osome (Ryūsai Shigeharu)
- Konishi Hirosada
Notes
- ^ The British Museum dates his activity to c.1816-1835, Oxford Reference to c.1821-1841, and Ujlaki to c.1821-1841.
- ^ Roberts 1980, 145
- ^ Japan Arts Council
- ^ Roberts 1980, 145
- ^ Japan Arts Council
- ^ Lyon 2013
- ^ Roberts 1980, 145
- ^ Lyon 2013
- ^ Japan Arts Council 2012
- ^ Japan Arts Council 2012
- ^ Ujlaki
- ^ Yonemura 2002, 346
- ^ Lyon 2013
- ^ Lyon 2013
- ^ Kodansha 2009, 1972
- ^ Kodansha 2009, 1972
- ^ Newland 2005, 561
- ^ Keyes and Mizushima 1973, 311
- ^ Lyon 2013
- ^ Roberts 1980, 145
- ^ Davis 2007, 18
External links
- Ukiyo-e.org. "Prints by Ryūsai Shigeharu".
References
- Brandon, James R.; Leiter, Samuel L. (2002), "The Scandalous Love of Osome and Hisamatsu", Kabuki Plays on Stage: Darkness and Desire, 1804-1864, Honolulu: University of Hawai'i, pp. 63–90, ISBN 0824824555
- British Museum, Utagawa Kunihiro (国広歌川): Biographical details, Trustees of the British Museum, retrieved March 3, 2014
- Davis, Judy Nelson (2007), "Now Appearing in Print: Osaka Actors and their Audience", in Winegrad, Dilys Pegler (ed.), Dramatic Impressions: Japanese Theatre Prints from the Gilbert Luber Collection, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania, pp. 13–35, ISBN 978-0812219852
- JAANUS, Kamigata-e, Japanese Architecture and Art Net Users System, retrieved January 16, 2014
- Japan Arts Council (2012), Jinbutsu Rireki: Ryūsai Shigeharu [人物履歴:柳斎重春] (Biography: Ryūsai Shigeharu), Bunka Digital Library, retrieved March 3, 2014
- Keyes, Roger S.; Mizushima, Keiko (1973), The Theatrical World of Osaka Prints, Boston: Philadelphia Museum of Art, ISBN 0879230711
- Kitagawa, Hiroko (2005), "Kamigata-e: The Prints of Osaka and Kyoto", in Newland, Amy Reigle (ed.), The Hotei Encyclopedia of Japanese Woodblock Prints, vol. 1, Amsterdam: Hotei, pp. 229–232, ISBN 9074822657
- Kodansha (2009), "柳斎重春 (Ryūsai Shigeharu)", in Ueda (上田), Masaaki (正昭) (ed.), 講談社日本人名大辞典 (Kodansha NihonjinMei Daijiten), Tokyo: Kodansha, p. 1972, ISBN 978-4062108003
- Lyon, Mike (2013), Ryusai Shigeharu, Lyon Collection of Japanese Woodblock Prints, retrieved March 2, 2014
- Newland, Amy Reigle (2005). The Hotei Encyclopedia of Japanese Woodblock Prints, vol. 2. Amsterdam: Hotei. ISBN 9074822657.
- Oxford Reference (2014), Kunihiro, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-992301-4, retrieved March 3, 2014
- Roberts, Laurance, P. (1980). A Dictionary of Japanese Artists. New York: Weatherhill. p. 145. ISBN 083480235X.)
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link
- Samurai Archives (1 January 2012), Arashi Rikan II, Samurai Archives, retrieved March 3, 2014
- Shōriya, Aragorō (2013), Arashi Rikan II, Kabuki 21, retrieved March 2, 2014
- Shōriya, Aragorō (2012), Some Moyô Imose no Kadomatsu, Kabuki 21, retrieved March 3, 2014
- Ujlaki, Peter, Biography: Kunihiro, OsakaPrints.com, retrieved March 3, 2014
- Ujlaki, Peter, Biography: Shigeharu, OsakaPrints.com, retrieved March 3, 2014
- Vegder, Jerry, Ukiyo-e Prints: Publishers N-Z, PrintsofJapan.com, archived from the original on July 31, 2013, retrieved January 17, 2014
- Yonemura, Ann (2002). Masterful Illusions: Japanese Prints from the Anne van Biema Collection. Washington, D.C.: University of Washington. ISBN 0295982713.