Toyohara Chikanobu the Tale of Heike, Kusunoki Masashige

Heroes and Heroines in the Tale of Heike
 Kusunoki Masashige
CHT22 $155
13 1/2 inches by 9 1/4 inches

Toyohara Chikanobu (Yoshu Chikanobu) 1838-1912 lived through a tumultuous time in Japanese history when Commodore Matthew Perry of the U.S. Navy sailed into Tokyo Harbor and threatened to fire on the city if Japan did not open up trade to the West. Chikanobu became a famous Samurai, noted for his bravery, fighting the Battles of Ueno & Hakidate. After defeat and imprisonment he decided to make a living as an artist. His prints capture the transition of Japan from the era of the samurai and isolationism to the Meiji period of modernity. These sheets are from the very rare series, Heroes and Heroines in The Tale of Heike, 1898. The colors are spectacular with silver enhancement and gum arabic. Some have minor offsetting, and on a few, some print loss to the original center fold.