Torii Kiyonga, the fourth master of the school by that name, abandoned the trend in theatrical portraits and himself joined in the development of courtesan portraits. At the end of the century there was not, in principle one dominating school which could claim indisputable primacy in transforming this field. A few artistic individualists could be found who style of woodblock prints bound with Kabuki, previously formalized under the influences of Torii masters. One of the first artists to invent a new type of theatrical pictures was Katsukawa Shunsho (1726 - 93). Characteristic of theatrical portraits, in the second half of the 18th century was the large degree of standardisation. The Torii school worked out a series of types of drama heroes which did not leave much for individualisation. Shunsho, assuredly under the influence of bijin-ga portraits of beautiful women, gave up stage designs and concentrated on portraying individual actors in interpretation of a specific role. Significant in his work was the technique of multicoloured prints, which he used in applying brilliant, contrasting colours in designing Kabuki dramas. Shunsho's style was further studied and developed by his pupil Shunko, considered by many scholars to have surpassed his master in skilfully highlighting the psychological characteristics of the subjects. Shunko also changed the conception of expression in actors' portraits substituting dramatism and pathos based on movement by expression, achieved by manipulating stains and lines around the figure presented in static pose. These changes corresponded with the simultaneous changes in style of acting in which pompous, rapid gesticulations were exchanged for more subtle means of expression.

 The most controversial and at the same time most secretive figure among portrait painters of Kabuki actors was Toshusai Sharaku. Most of the works bearing his signature date to the second half of 1794 and beginning of 1795, hence less than half a year. After this brief period only two designs, a fan and graphic, attributed to Sharaku are supposedly from about 1799. Nothing is known of the artist's parentage or education. The artists circles in Edo were surprised when Tsutaya Juzaburo entrusted him with designs for a luxuries series of portraits of actors using the nishiki-e technique with the addition of powdered mica.

 Popular and frequently met portraits of actors earlier had been confined to cheap posters and theatre programmes, for the first time were given equal status with expensive portraits of courtesans. What is more, a completely unknown novice had been chosen to perform this precarious task. From the first edition in 1794 till today there are various speculations as to the true identity of the artist, concealed under the name of Sharaku. In the opinion of collectors and researches it could be Shiba Kokan, Katsushika Hokusai, Torii Kiyomasa or Eishosai Choki. Hoshu Minamoto, author of one of the first competent works on Japanese art translated into English thought that this was the pseudonym of Saito Jurobei, a well-known No actor. The very dispersion of proposed artistic individualities which in no way can be combined in one group shows how specific is the phenomenon of Sharaku's creativity against the background of Japanese woodblock prints. His paintings of artists bear a physical similarity, bordering on caricature, never appearing elsewhere in ukiyoe. Sharaku used elements of satire the same way as Utamaro or Eishi employed idealization in striving to reveal the personality of the subjects portrayed. These likenesses in conformity with the conventions conveyed psychological elements composed of the image of the hero of the drama and, at the same time, emphasized the individual traits of the artist. Edo Enkaku, The development of Edo, a book published at the time of Tokugawa describes the city and its eminent citizens and says that Sharaaku "skilfully painted the semblance of the actors and their type of mine but destroyed their image so they were ill-disposed toward him.

Utagawa Toyoharu, founder of the Utagawa school, the little known creator of ukiyoe, left a number of nikuhitsu ukiyoe, individual paintings presenting typical portraits of kubuki courtesans and actors. In spite of obvious technical mastery, from a formal point of view his works had a rigidity and schematism as a result of which they ceded to the compositions of more famous artists of his time, Shunsho, Eishi or Torii Kiyonaga. He did, however, achieve recognition for a different group of works, the perspective picture uki-e which he made. The beginning of this style was in the 20-ties of the 18th century, when the ban was lifted off the import of Chinese books which could have contained texts on Christianity. Chinese book graphics, of hat period, willingly followed the perspective influence of European works and its renewed dissemination in Japan led to a range of woodblock prints adopting the new design to themes from the floating world. The most famous of such works by Okamura Masanobu showed the interior of Kabuki theatres, pavilions and tea-shops. In these works the layout of walls of the buildings painted in sharp abridgement accentuated the perspective taper. The figures of people, objects and interior views generally kept to traditional convention and the principle of combining converse and axonometric perspective. In the next fifty years different painters developed the trend of perspective painting but it was not till Toyoharu who produced a compact composition that a smooth mergence of rules of perspective taper with ukiyoe forms was possible. The methods applied by artists in this search was, at the onset, ukiyoe techniques of extraordinarily faithful copies of Dutch drawings sometimes of subjects exotic for the Japanese public as views of the ruins of ancient Rome. Gradually, having mastered the new form, Toyoharu adopted it to appropriate subjects, drawing from popular historical motifs. None of the pupils of the Utagawa school, nor the later known woodblock print artists in Japan concentrated, to such an extent, on questions of perspectives. Toyoharu's solution became the basis for ukiyoe landscapes at the turn of the 18th century, and a characteristic feature of many of the schools opened by the masters was the earnest study of European works. Private acquaintance and family connections were of great significance in a modest-sized, closed society like ukiyoe. Fortunately for the development of the Utagawa school, Toyokaru accepted as a pupil the son of Kurahashi, a sculptor of wooden dolls and probable friend of Utagawa living with Shiba in the same district of Edo. Toyoharu's choice of perspective paintings as the main trend in compositions, predicted the author's popularity but considerably impeded development of the school. In Edo circles ukiyoe was considered to be of little interest, used rather for training in ateliers than for works of art. This form was used to decorate boxes for children to play at theatre. In spite of the familiar and popular performances in conventional ukiyoe which Toyoharu presented they had a limited influence. The public preferred Kiyonaga's or Shunko's portraits of Kabuki courtesans and actors. The creator who introduced Utagawa school to the leading trend ukiyoe, which because of the recognition it received and the number of famous masters, dominated ukiyoe in the 19th century, was the above mentioned son of Kurahashi, widely known as Toyokuni I.

The generally accepted custom was that when a founder of a school resigned, his name as an artist passed to the best pupil. This was the way the principal schools of the shogunate, Kano and Tosa, functioned. On the same principle Utagawa Toyokuni I executed only part of the works bearing his signature "Toyokuni", passing on both his professional name and forename to his student. A further problem for collectors and scholars was that this school should not go under the name of Toyokuni since he considered himself to be a pupil of Utagawa Toyoharo and like his successor claimed affiliation to the House of Utagawa. An additional aspect of the problem of functioning of the school was that Utagawa Toyokuni's woodblock prints from an artistic point of view surpassed those of his master.

 Two attributes of Toyokuni's creativity accounted for the rapid popularity of his works. The first was his ability to take advantage of all important achievements of the Golden Age. The second was the particular interest in theatrical portraits to which Toyokuni I owed his popularity. The choice of subject was of paramount importance in view of the situation of the type. Up till the 70-ties of the 18th century the Torii school specialized in portraits of actors. The fourth master of this school Torii Kiyonaga gradually reduced the number of pictures of Kabuki actors and concentrated in bijin-ga, pictures of beautiful women. Necessary, because of the binding principles but definitely a mistake, was the choice of successor Torii III, the not particularly talented son, which caused the deterioration of the school. The attempt to accept the Katsugawa school trend ended in Shunko graphics which did not have a worthy continuator either. The void thus created was to have been filled by the Utagawa school in the 19th century. Toyokuni educated a number of outstanding artists who take over charge of the school till the decline of the Edo epoch. In spite of his preference for subjects given above Toyokuni did not entirely reject portraits of courtesans. He painted several pictures of beautiful women more or less in the Utamaro style but more theatrically expressive, typical for actors' portraits. In the latter, Toyokuni cleverly used and dramatically modified the almost caricaturing style of Sharaku's portraits, somewhat diminishing their expressions and in this way radically increasing his circle of potential buyers. Toyokuni's attitude to Sharaku's work was rather similar to that of another master of the Utagawa school, Hiroshige, who in like manner persuaded public approval of landscapes, which in Hokusai's version was seen as being too artistic. In a short time Toyoukuni's portraits of actors won tremendous popularity guaranteeing the Utagawa school supremacy to the end of Edo epoch. These portraits attracted attention by the diversity of subjects, complicated poses of the figures underlining the dramatic gestures of Kabuki and finally unerring psychological observations. Like the fleeting expression in ukiyoe Utagawa Toyokuni worked, in a small way, on individual physical similarities in painted figures attempting, like Utamaro, to give them the personality and specific atmosphere they created during a performance.

 Toyokuni used the greatest possible interpretation in painting two famous Kabuki actors, Iwai Hanshiro V and Bando Hikosaburo III in a scene from a drama Yaoya Oshichi dealing with the subject of unhappy love, popular in Kabuki.

 The best period of creativity of Utagawa Toyokuni was from 1790-1805, it then gradually declined in schematism and often repeated motifs earlier works. Toyokuni was one of the few ukiyoe artists who became wealthy thanks to his art. Such was his popularity that at the time of his death he had not managed to complete orders. He was known in Edo for his liking for sake and geishas. The popularity of Utagawa Toyokuni's works went beyond the customary circle of townsmen buyers, reaching to the shogunate. He was chosen by Ishikawa Hyuga no Kami, daimyo, feudal lord of the Kameyama castle in Ise, who adopted the professional name of Utagawa Kunihiro. Apart from Kunihiro, known above all for his lineage, Toyokuni had a large number of pupils some of which were considerably talented. Gototei Kunisada, Ichiyusai Kuniyoshi as well as Kuninao and Kunimaru were all from his atelier.

 Quite apart from his wealth, mentioned above, Toyokuni probably for financial reasons chose as his successor a little known student Ichiryusai Toyoshige, who as Toyokuni II made some relatively good, but not particularly inspiring pictures. It might be because of the lack of popularity of Toyoshige's graphics that, when ten years after his death, in 1844, Utagawa Kunisada as master, officially announced taking the name Toyokuni II, it met with the support of both buyers and ukiyoe artist circles. Gototei Kunisada had managed to attain a high position as author of paintings of beautiful women and his decision was announced presumably with the approval of the more important students and in their presence. Honshoan Kosanba, Edo writer and critic writes about this incident in his book in which he says it is only proper that the name of the master should be inherited by an older and not a young unknown student, especially as it carries responsibility toward the master's family. Kunisada worked for over fifty years but his works dating to the second decade of the 18th century are considered to be his best, characterized by ease and freshness. His later works gradually deteriorated though in the last years of his life he produced several works rejoicing in well-deserved fame. In his paintings of women Kunisada often ignored accuracy of detail; the feet of his courtesans are as a rule exaggeratedly raised, the bodies lack logical proportions and their curves and convolutions are unnatural. Despite the weaker side of his compositions the dynamics of movement and subtle relations between people place him in the ranks of the most famous masters of the types. Kunisada's best known works are portraits of beautiful women but he also painted first class pictures of Kabuki actors. Historical and mythological themes seldom appeared in his compositions, but one of them a triptych from 1850 in the collection of the National Museum in Poznan portrays the forging of a sword in the Masamune workshop. Far more natural and casual is his earlier work of famous courtesans often in private situations at toilet or reading a letter.

 Such was the popularity of the Utagawa school, especially in the first half of the 18th century, that apart from known, signed works in almost every collection there were unsigned graphics of doubtful origin whose date and authorship need to be established. These woodblock prints are sometimes of a high artistic level and to leave them without any attribution may mean serious impoverishment of the group of collections; an example of such a graphic is the woodblock print of two courtesans. One of them is lying resting easily on a kind of chest, holding in a raised hand a short cake stick. In front of her on the chest is a small teacup. In front of the chest is a bowl with chopsticks and rice cakes, dango. The second courtesan stands alongside smiling at the reclining figure. The casually half-open kimono exposes a breast, the right hand is under the kimono and in the left is a roll of paper or material. The women are presented in moments of relaxation, deep in conversation. The artist has caught a fleeting moment of time. The woman standing and smiling lightly seems to be listening to the relliner. The homely, comfortable dress and casual natural pose of the courtesans highlights the private character of the presentation. The women's coiffure, the colourful draped kimonos, the feet of one of them and the proportions and type of faces permits dating the graphic to 1815-1840. The way the shoulder musculature has been stressed suggests the atelier of Kunisada or Kuniyoshi. Two formal elements permit identification of the Poznan graphics as being from Kunisada's circles. The first is the characteristic folds of the kimono drawn up on the shoulders and falling to the ground. They are sharp, stiff as if arranged from hard, smooth surfaces more like paper than material. Folds arranged in the same way can be seen in Kunisada's diptych "Coming out of the bath" dated to 1818-1844. This type of marked folds is unknown in the Toyokuni school and even in Kunisada are of rare appearance, generally in pictures of private scenes, seldom in portraits of courtesans and samurai. Kuniyoshi does not use forms preferring equally vivid not so rigid but "flowing" gowns. The next element pointing to Kunisada as author, is the shape of the face and way of drawing the features. The faces of both women are oval with delicate features and subtle mimicry highlighting the psychological state. It is obvious that both courtesans are concentrated on a conversation without paying attention to what they are doing at that moment. The relining woman on the left seems to be instinctively accentuating with a gesture of her hand, what she or her companion has just said. The facial expression does not suggest sudden emotions, it is rather a reflection of a quiet peaceful atmosphere characterizing the whole presentation. A similar mood can be seen in Kunisada's decorated fan with two girls feeding goldfish<$F Genshoku ukiyoe daihyakkajiten, vol.8 I11. 285, dated to 1830-44. Symbolizing summer was a reason to portray family scenes; two little girls absorbed in throwing food into a receptacle with fish. There are two women accompanying them, amused and in conversation. The intimate private atmosphere of the family scene is emphasized by wet hair, the loosely worn kimono of one of the women, who has presumably just come out of a bath. The folds of the kimono are like those in the work from the Poznan collection. The facial features, accentuated muscles and almost identical coiffure look like the picture of the courtesan with the mirror from the series Tosei sanjuni so,  dated to ca. 1820. Since Kuniyoshi was most interested in portraying dramatic movements of action, in ukiyoe, in which his heroes took part, the women he painted have clear cut features and the expression on their faces suggests sudden animation even in a peaceful setting like a woodblock print fan decoration of a woman breast-feeding a child, entitled Mother and Child dated 1840-45. In the graphic in the Poznan collection there is a small fault; the downward slope of the left shoulder is slightly exaggerated. This, however, does not negate the theory of Kunisada authorship. Apparently there are minor errors in many of his paintings, especially in his exemplary groups, as for instance, "Coming out of the Bath" mentioned above, where the woman's foot is thickened out of proportion. Even though similar faults could point to one of Kunisada's students as author of the graphic, its standard of execution, ease of composition and precision of drawing suggests that it is the work of the master himself. To sum up, it can be said that the graphic in Poznan was most likely done by Gototeia Kunisada in 1818-44 and is a fragment of his  creation of an unofficial works. It is a valuable addition to the Poznan collection of graphics by this author, type of courtesans portraits and pictures of Kabuki actors.

 A student at the Utagawa school working under the supervision of Utagawa Tayohiro was Utagawa Hiroshige, today considered to be the author of numerous ukiyoe woodblock print landscapes and who achieved greatest popularity abroad. He also continued working in the main trend of the Utagawa school and his pictures in the series Chuko adauchi zue,  Pictures of Loyalty and Revenge and Soga monogatari zue, Picture Stories about Soga are an interesting combination of a typical Hiroshige landscape with an excellent formal presentation of heroes engaged in complicated action. Human figures in these works, although they are of the traditional Toyokuni school, thanks to bold original composition are reminiscent of some of Katsushka Hokusai's woodblock prints, especially the famous series of the ghosts of Hyaku Monogatari, A Hundred Stories. The somewhat pessimistic mood of Hiroshige's pictures and their dynamics resulting from contrasting areas of pure colour harmonize with the fantastic and harsh texts of the stories.

 Because of the rapid development of the Utagawa school, at the and of the Edo period it was the most developed structure in the world of Japanese woodblock prints. It was this that the artists of the school, Yoshitora, Yoshihide, Kunimaro and Toyohara Kunichika, tried to maintain of the expiring waning tradition of the type. However, despite the one-time high standard of their work the popularity of ukiyoe systematically faded; not without blame for this were the less important students of the school, who offered numerous, low quality works. Because of social transformation bound with the collapse of the shogunate and Meiji revolution Japan was able to join the groups of contemporaneous world powers and their previous artistic forms had to withdraw. However, when years later Japan needed woodblock prints, artists reached first of all for the works of the early masters Utagawa, Kunisada, Kunichiki and especially Hiroshige.

34.Utagawa Toyokuni I.
New Year Pines
 c.1800 sign.: Toyokuni ga
nishikie 380 x 260 mm
publisher: Eirin-do (Iwatoya Kisaburo)
MNP G /026762

35. Utagawa Toyokuni I.
The Actors Iwai Hanshiro V. and Bando Hikosaburo IIL
c.1795
sign.: Toyokuni ga
benie 362 x 245 mm
publisher: Uemura (Emiya Kichiemon)
MNP G/018740
Famous Kabuki actors presented in a scene from the drama titled Yaoya Oshichi. When portraying the onnagata, an actor playing a woman s part, Toyokuni faced the need to reconcile quite contradictory elements. On the one hand, he had to mark the presence ofa male actor, who through his interpretation of the part was creating a unique stage situation, on the other though, the basic aim of the onnagata was an ideal presentation of the heroine being played, and Hanshiro V. was considered to be one of the greatest actors of female parts in the history of the Kabuki. In line with the guidelines of his school, Hanshiro on the stage had to be fully identifiable with the figure of the young girl being played: his own personality could be felt only through his heroine and could not be distinguished independently. In such a situation, Toyokuni could not simply present the portrait of
a woman. The wood-block print had to present an actor looking and behaving just like a woman. The problem was partly solved through universally accepted models of depiction, but Toyokuni chose a different solution and presented an idealized female face, compatible with the type of features Utamaro's women had, yet at the same time delicately transforming it, to accentuate the physical presence of the actor. The second important element was showing the mutual relations of both the characters, both in their stage version as drama heroes, and in their real one as possessing a given image among the audience. To follow those relations it is necessary to be briefly introduced into the plot of the drama. A precious and famous sword has disappeared from the emperor's palace, and his guardian, a samurai named Yasumori Genjiro, has been ordered to commit suicide. His son Kichisaburo, sent for the time being to the temple of Kisshoin as a servant, has to find the sword or he will also die. Oshichi, the daughter of a greengrocer, together with her family has found refuge in the temple after her house burnt down. Kichisaburo and Oshichi fall deeply in love. The night before the execution of Kichisaburo, Oshichi finds out where the sword is but she cannot inform her beloved about it as the gates of the city have been shut. In despair, she rings the fire-alarm bell, knowing that that will cause the gates to be opened, but she herself will be sentenced to be burnt at the stake for having done so. The choice of Iwai Hanshiro V. for the leading female part was not caused by his high qualifications as an onnagata; his fame as an interpreter of akuba parts, i.e. evil women with strong personalities, bringing ill fortune onto themselves and their environment, was an additional argument. Though Oshichi was not the type of an evil woman, she is a dominating figure in the drama, who takes strong-headed decisions and involves herself in the action, while Kichisaburo is only a lost, unhappy young man. Bando Hikosaburo III. was chosen to play his part, as the actor specialized in the parts of delicate, romantic lovers in the subtle„,gentle" wagoto style. Thus the plot itself and the choice of actors broke away from the popular stereotype of seeing the figure of the man as dominant and active, and of the woman - appropriately - as docile and passive. The stereotype, characteristic of samurai culture, frequently underwent transformations in the urban, chonin drama of Kabuki. Toyokuni, when portraying the world of the theater, consistently presented an inversion of the accepted conventions in his wood-block prints. In the example in question he achieved that by marking the compositional domination of the female figure, standing, enlarged thr Hugh the shape of the hat held in her right hand, over that of the man sitting before her. The poise of Oshichi's figure is static and compact, while Kichisaburo is shown in slight movement, as if he were turning his head towards his beloved in bemusement. The juxtaposition of movement and stillness reflects the dramatic juxtaposition of the two characters - the resolute girl and the somewhat hesitant young man, i.e. a combination in which the personality of the heroine had to be uppermost. The spectators in 18th c. Edo saw yet another essential element of both spectacle and print- the specific mirroring of the social context. The girl, who came from a tradesman s family, was saving the life of a helpless young representative of a samurai family, thus breaking free of the strict system of the hierarchy of social strata accepted in the structure of Edo.

36.Utagawa Toyokuni I.
Segawa Kikunojo as Chiyo /Matsuo no nyobo Chiyo, Segawa Kikunojo/
c. 1800 -1825
sign.: Toyokuni ga
nishikie 357 x 235 mm
publisher: Ishikawaya Ushizo MNP G/026393
Toyokuni s late print shows the stylistic transformations that Utagawa school underwent at the beginning of the 19th c. Toyokuni gradually abandoned the idealized portrait of beautiful women, characteristic of Utamaro, and created his own specific style, which would from then on dominate in the portraits by his pupils up to the end of the Edo period. The style was most faithfully continued by Kunisada, whose works at the time almost did not differ from those of Toyokuni I. Also Segawa Kikunojo's portrait could have been ascribed to Kunisada, though he is distinguished by the figures being stiffer, and referring to the traditional forms of the Kabuki portrait, and the attribution is confirmed by the censor's seal, used at the beginning of the century.

37.Utagawa Toyokuni I.
Iwai Matsunosuke
1820-1825
sign.: Toyokuni ga
nishikie 390 x 258 mm
publisher: Yamamoto- ya Heikichi MNP G/026399

38.Utagawa Kunimaru
The Courtesan Rinzan of Sekiraya /Sekirayanai Rinzan/
c.1820
sign.: Ichiensai Kunimaru ga
nishikie 384 x 286 mm
publisher: Eijudo
MNPG/026397
The figure of a woman depicted according to the rules of Toyokuni s style, in an elegant poise underlined by the lines of an elaborately draped kimono. The layer of pink pigment by the upper edge of the wood-block gradually fades away, and white flowers have been pressed at the meeting point. Kunimaro's print is an excellent example of the style of Utagawa school, developed at the beginning of the 19th c. Toyokuni I's two pupils, Kunimaro and Kunisada made best use of the style, though Kunimaro's works, more static and paying attention to detail, more clearly continue the line began by the master and are derived from theatrical posters. Among the artists connected to the Utagawa school, it is also Kunimaru who pays greatest attention to a decorative draping of the robes worn by the presented characters.

39.Utagawa Kuninao
A Mask from the No Theater
between 1810 and 1854
the author's seal: Kuninao
nishikie 215 x 188 mm
MNP G/027536
Kuninao, when painting the No mask for the part of a young girl, undertook an exceptionally rare theme in ukiyoe, closest perhaps to the European concept of still life. The picture is accompanied by a poem, in which a superbly sculptured smile is juxtaposed with the smile of a blooming plum tree. Kuninao's mask, through its emphasis on the area of the eyes and an underlining of the conventional smile, acquired the features of a live person. The No theater, connected with shogun patronage and developing in the milieu of samurai aristocracy was not altogether divested of any links with middle-class culture. Kuninao's print points to the knowledge artists of the chonin class had of samurai culture, and indirectly to the uniformity of the Edo cultural milieu, which stimulated the development of both erotic books and court poetry.

40.Utagawa Kuninao (?)
 Courtesans in a Tea House
between 1800 and 1843
unsigned
nishikie 220 x 255 mm
MNP G/025873
An unsigned album leaf presents a scene from the pleasure quarter. Keisai, a courtesan of high rank, is sitting talking to a younger companion. They are being overheard by the proprietress of the tea-room, hidden in the interior. The artist has emphasized the position of the keisai by surrounding her with the folds of a decoratively draped kimono and by a detailed depiction of her elaborate coiffure. Shinto, her young companion, is clearly agitated and is pointing at something with her hand. At the back of the building, round the bend, a young pupil is playing with a dog. The wood-block print is plainly kept in the style of Utagawa school, though it differs from the works of Toyokuni I. and Kunimaro. The delicately marked dramatic tension of the action, the “momentality" of the scheme and the element of humor introduced by the scene of the girl and dog, all owe a lot to the works of Hokusai, just as the composition itself does, by concentrating the action in one part of the picture and leaving a lot of blank space elsewhere. The style of the graphic, representing a high artistic level, is closest to the works of Kuninao, a pupil of Toyokuni I. and Hokusai.

41. Utagawa Kunisada
Shinfuji of Fukugawa /Fukugawa Shinfuji/
between 1820 and 1833
from the series: Pictures of Famous Beautiful Women of the Floating World /Ukiyo meii onna zue/,
sign.: Gototei Kunisada ga
nishikie 380 x 250 mm
publisher: Iseya Rihei
MNPG/018731
Shinfuji, New Fuji, is the name of a pleasure quarter. The portrait of a courtesan is accompanied with a quotation from a drama, describing the scene of an angry parting of two lovers. Kunisada has placed the female figure in an undefined, blank space, making use of the theatrical poster convention in which Utagawa school specialized. The lack of a definite place of the action makes the spectator's attention concentrate on the figure itself, increasing the force of expression and emphasizing the psychological description of the portrait. The use of a formula adopted in scenes from Kabuki dramas gives the depiction a more universal character, and becomes the picture of a given type of character, represented by a real person.

42.Utagawa Kunisada
Afternoon in Oji /Oji no uma no hike/
between 1820 and 1833
from the series: Views of Azuma, Contemporary Beauties /Tosei Bijo Azuma fukei/
sign.: Gototei Kunisada ga
nishikie 382 x 255 mm
publisher: Iseia Rihei
MNP G/018741
The character of the free, private themes painted by Kunisada resembles Utamaro's wood-block prints which present the private life of the female inhabitants of the pleasure quarters. The type of female beauty shown by the artists has undergone great changes, though; the faces of Kunisada's courtesans have become more characteristic, while the idealized psychological portrait has been replaced by the noticeably material nature of the character.

43.Utagawa Kunisada
Ueno
1833-1844
from the series: Admiring Blooming Flowers in Edo /Edo hanamie/
sign.: Kochoro Kunisada ga
nishikie 380 x 250 mm
publisher: Yamakyu (Yamamoto Heikichi)
MNP G/025875
The admiration for the cherry blossoms suggested in the title is of a metaphoric nature and refers to the „green houses" and their female inhabitants.

44.Utagawa Kunisada
The Embankment by Shijo Road /Shijo kawara/
1844
from the series: Famous Tokaido Places in Kyoto lTokaido Kyoto meisho no uchi/
sign.: Gojuhassai Toyokuni hitsu
nishikie 340 x 243 mm
publisher: Joshuya
MNP G/026445

45.Utagawa Kunisada
Forging Swords at Masamune's /Mukashi mukashi masamune yukagen no kyuzu),
part of a triptych
c.1847-1852
sign.: Shimoto no oju Toyokuni ga
nishikie 364 x 256 mm
publisher: Yamazakiya
MNP G/026328
The undertaking of this theme, untypical of Kunisada, was caused by a specific commission from the publisher, but it could also be seen as an element of a constant rivalry with Kuniyoshi. Utagawa Kuniyoshi, a pupil in the same studio, was considered a specialist on dramatic depictions of famous heroes. The differences between the two artists, who came from the same school and were of a similar age, were considerable, though. Kuniyoshi wished to depict pathos, and the background in his pictures usually resembled theatrical stage-settings with equally theatrical characters moving within them. The composition of Kuniyoshi s works is very dense, sometimes overcrowded with detail, and the main characters seem not to have enough room within the cramped space of the picture. As a result, stress is put on the physical might of the heroes and the commotion accompanying their battles. Kunisada deals with totally different aspects of the presentation, concentrating his attention on the dramatic expression of the individual heroes. The figures of the armorers are clearly separate and set against an almost empty background, forcing the spectator to observe individual fragments. Kunisada, just as Kuniyoshi, borrowed from the tradition of the Kabuki portrait, but rather than create a new composition formula, he attempted to inscribe the theme into the existing convention.

46.Utagawa Kunisada
Forging Swords at Masamune's /Mukashi mukashi Masamune yukagen no kyuzu/,
part of a triptych,
c.1847-1852
sign.: Toyokuni ga
nishikie 364 x 256 mm
publisher: Yamazakiya MNP G/026329

47.Utagawa Kunisada
Forging Swords at Masamune's /Mukashi mukashi Masamune yukagen no kyuzu/,
part of a triptych
c.1847-1852
 sign.: Oyu Toyokuni ga
nishikie 364 x 256 mm
publisher: Yamazakiya
MNP G /026330

48.Utagawa Kunisada
Futatsu Chocho, Yohei, part of a triptych
1852
sign.: Toyokuni ga
nishikie 358 x 235 mm
publisher: Yamamoto Heikichi
MNP G/026779/001
Kunisada has presented one of the main scenes from the well-known Kabuki drama Futatsu Chocho, describing the story of a sumo wrestler Nuregami Chogoro who, when saving a captured courtesan, kills a notable and his three servants. In the final part of the drama, when Chogoro is hiding at his mother's house, his half-brother Yohei, a local official responsible for capturing him, suddenly returns home. The Skylight /Hikimado/, the theme of the wood-block print, is the final scene of the drama in which Ohaya, the wife of Yohei, frees Chogoro by opening a skylight. The most dramatic fragment of the plot is the scene of the wrestling combat played in the expressive aragoto style. Hikimado was a contrary one, requiring the actors to subtly render moral dilemmas. The choice of that very scene, a not too impressive one as far as the dynamics of the action are concerned, but containing the main problem of the play, i.e. the heroes' moral conflict, being forced to choose between duty to the state and that to their own family, suited Kunisada, who was primarily interested in picturing psychological insights of the characters.

49.Utagawa Kunisada Futatsu Chocho, Ohaya, part of a triptych
1852
sign.: Toyokuni ga
nishikie 358 x 247 mm
publisher: Yamamoto Heikichi
MNP G/026779/002

50.Utagawa Kunisada
Futatsu Chocho, Chogoro, part of a triptych
1852
sign.: Toyokuni ga
nishikie 358 x 248 mm
publisher: Yamamoto Heikichi
MNP G/026779/003

51.Kunisada (?)
Two Courtesans
c.1840
unsigned
nishikie 232 x 332 mm
MNP G/027535

52.Utagawa Sadahide
The Fox Hunt
1815-1842
sign.: Sadahide ga
nishikie 375 x 250 mm
publisher: Kawaguchiya
MNP G/026602

53.Kunisada II.
A Group of Courtesans
between 1859 and 1871
sign.: Sansei Toyokuni
ga nishikie 260 x 180 mm
MNP G/024822
Kunisada II. continued his master's style in his works but changed their composition, aiming to fill in the blank space so characteristic of Kunisada I. The human figures in Kunisada II's prints were usually pressed close together while the background consisted of various minor details. The decline in the level of the works of Utagawa school was connected to the general decline of ukiyoe artistic forms towards the end of the Tokugawa period.

54 Kunisada II.
Three Women
between 1859 and 1871
sign.: Kochoro Kunisada ga
nishikie 260 x 180 mm
MNP G/024820

55.Utagawa Kuniyoshi
Twelve Months, January. Miyagino /Junikagetsu no uchi Shogatsu. Miyagino/
1852
from the series: Views of Famous Places in Edo lEdo Meisho mitatel
sign.: Ichiyusai Kuniyoshi ga
nishikie 358 x 270 mm
publisher: Tsuruya Kiemon
MNP G/026603

56.Utagawa Kuniyoshi
Twelve Months, March. Fuwa Banzaemon /Junikagetsu no uchisangatsu/
1852-1853
from the series: Views of Famous Places in Edo /Edo meisho mitate/ Fuwa Banzaemon.
sign.: Ichiyusai Kuniyoshi ga
nishikie 358 x 270 mm
publisher: Tsuruya Kiemon
MNP G/026604

57. Utagawa Kuniyoshi
Ushiwakamaru
c.1830-1845
from the series: Each of the Eight Hundred Heroes of Native Riverside Tales /Honcho-Suikoden goyu happyakunin no hitori/
sign.: Ichiyusai Kuniyoshi ga
nishikie 367 x 243 mm
MNP G/026752
One of twenty five illustrations of a cycle titled Each of Eight Hundred Heroes of Native Riverside Tales. The title refers to Suikoden, a novel popular at the time, a history of legendary heroes translated from Chinese. The knight Yoshitsune from the House of Miyamoto, who appears here as Ushiwakamaru, a name he used as a young man, defeats the rock hurling Tankai of Kitashirakawa. The figures of the fighting heroes fill almost all the space in the picture. The pathos of the gestures and the dramatic, conventional mimics are derived from Kabuki poster forms. Background elements, the fence and the tree trunk, are shown out of proportion and, further, resemble theatrical decorations rather than true landscape. The dynamism of Kuniyoshi s prints could have been a result of his knowledge of European engravings.

58.Utagawa Kuniyoshi
Matsuwakamaru
1830-1850
from the series: Twelve Zodiac Signs /Mitate junishi no uchi/
sign.: Ichiyusai Kuniyoshi ga nishikie
357 x 248 mm
MNP G/026605

59. Utagawa Hiroshige
Miracle in Hakone /Hakone reigenki/
1843-1852
from the series: Pictures of Loyalty And Revenge /Chuko adauchi zue/
sign.: Ichiryusai Hiroshige ga
nishikie 350 x 238 mm
publisher: Dansendo (Ibaya Sensaburo)
MNP G/026633

60.Utagawa Hiroshige
Tenkachaya
1843-1852
from the series: Pictures of Loyalty And Revenge lChuko adauchi zue/
sign.: Ichiryusai Hiroshige ga
nishikie 350 x 238 mm
publisher: Dansendo (Ibaya Sensaburo)
MNP G/026635

61.Utagawa Hiroshige
The Power Konpiro received from the Gods /Konpira rishoki/
1843-1852
from the series: Pictures of Loyalty And Revenge /Chuko adauchi zue)
sign.: Ichiryusai Hiroshige ga
nishikie 350 x 238 mm
publisher: Dansendo (Ibaya Sensaburo)
MNP G/026634

62.UtagawaHiroshige
Hakoomaru
between 1840 and 1853
from the series: Pictures from the Tales of Soga /Soga monogatari zue/
sign.: Ichiryusai Hiroshige ga
nishikie 383 x 254 mm
publisher: Dansendo (Ibaya Sensaburo)
MNP G /027569

63. Utagawa Kunimaro
Buddha as Otake /Otake dainichi nyorai/
c.1850
sign.: Toyokuni monjin Kunimaro ga
nishikie 360 x 240 mm
MNPG/026636

64.Utagawa Kunimaro
Ichimura Takenojo V
c.1850
the artist's seal: Kunimaro
nishikie 364 x 250 mm
MNP G /026337

65.Toyohara Kunichika
A Group of Actors of the Kabuki Theater
c.1860
sign.: Toyohara Kunichika hitsu
nishikie 370 x 243 mm
MNP G/026334
The work, kept in the style of traditional theatrical posters, depicts representatives of well-known actor families. The complicated plot, the theatrical gestures of the characters and the conventional facial expressions are not different from the portraits of Toyokuni s school, while Kunisada's strong influence is visible particularly in elements of landscape. The snow-covered branches of trees and the buildings shown in the distance, which from Kunisada's day would often appear in the works of Toyokuni s school, resemble Hiroshige's landscapes. The phenomenon was a side effect of a short-lived co-operation between Hiroshige and Kunisada, who made a couple of prints together, among others the well-known cycle of illustrations to the Tales of Prince Genji. Just as Yoshihide's courtesan portraits, Kunichika's actor portraits depict themes that are gradually becoming out-dated. The transformations taking place in social consciousness after the shock of having the country opened to foreign vessels and the political movement to overthrow the shogunate that was growing in strength at the time, made the themes connected to the pleasure quarters recede into the distance. Kunichika seems not to pay any attention to the changes under way, the only sign of which is the European top hat on an actor's head.

66.Toyohara Kunichika
A Man Resting by a Lamp
1859-1871
sign.: Kunichika hitsu
nishikie 250 x 185 mm
MNP G/024812

67.Toyohara Kunichika
Women on a Foot-bridge
1859-1871
sign. : Kunichika hitsu
nishikie 250 x 180 mm
MNP G/024831

68.Utagawa Yoshihide
Two Courtesans
1867
from the series: Contemporary Beauties /Tosei bijinzoroe/
sign.: Ikkyokusai
nishikie 350 x 255 mm
MNP G/025874
A print showing two courtesans of Yoshiwara. The one of higher rank is playing the shamisen, the younger one is playing with a folded fan. Yoshiwara has unevenly filled the upper part of the composition with numerous decorative elements, which created a kind of stage -setting for the two courtesans to play their ascribed parts. The theatrical, artificial and overloaded with detail picture space renders a conventionality to the situation, while the spectator, who earlier on had interpreted the picture as a mirroring of reality, is now faced with a spectacle of a purely conventional character, one which is more of a recollection of the ukiyo's splendid past than a presentation of contemporary times. An analogical way of structuring the picture appeared in so many other works of the Edo period that one could assume it to be an artistic expression of the doubts and unease society was experiencing at the time. The mutual relationships of the characters are quite free and easy. True to the tradition of Kunisada's wood-block prints, Yoshihide avoids any clear marking of the different position of both women. The print is a typical example of a late Edo ukiyoe of good craftsmanship. The rabbits on the curtain could be connected to the „year of the bare" occurring every twelve years in the Japanese calendar. In this case, it would have been the year of 1855.

69.Utagawa Yoshiharu
Lady Imaoka from Okada /Okada-ya-Nai Imaoka/
1859-1871
sign.: Oju Yoshiharu ga
nishikie 250 x 185 mm
MNP G/024816

70.Utagawa Yoshitora
Woman Sitting on the Terrace
1859-1871
from the series: Lady Murasaki Hand-coloured on Silk from Ashikaga /Ashikaga ginu tezome no Murasaki/
sign.: Mosai ga
nishikie 265 x 190 mm
 MNP G/024823

71.Utagawa Yoshitora
The Courtesan Keisei
1855
sign.: Yoshitora ga
nishikie 363 x 255 mm
publisher: Yamadaya Shobei MNP G/026777

72 Utagawa Yoshitora
Women in the Garden
c.1860-1870
from the series: Beauty Contesi The Flowers of Singing /Irokurabe hana no utahime/
sign.: Yoshitora ga
nishikie 265 x 195 mm
MNP G/024827

73.Utagawa Yoshitora
Warriors Running out of a Tent
c.1860-1870
sign.: Yoshitora ga
nishikie 250 x 185 mm
MNP G/024833