Antique 19th Century Japanese Woodblock Print By Utagawa Kunisada C.1858

Edo period 1858 (Ansei 5), 3rd month

Original Woodblock print of Snow (Yuki) actor Nakamura Fukusuke I as Hakomawashi Fukusaku (1 of a vertical ôban triptych)

Play (shosa, Part 1, Act 4): E-kyôdai Kotori no Saezuri
Scene: Snow (Yuki)
Play (main feature): Meoto Musubi Musume Hyôbanki
Theater: Nakamkura

Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper by Kunisada Utagawa, an artist that would later take on the name of his master and become Toyokuni III.

Utagawa Kunisada (1786 – January 12, 1865) (also known as Utagawa Toyokuni III) was the most popular, prolific and financially successful designer of ukiyo-e woodblock prints in 19th-century Japan. In his own time, his reputation far exceeded that of his contemporaries, Hokusai, Hiroshige and Kuniyoshi.