The Art of Kuniyoshi Utagawa

Last year when I went to Kyoto, I bought a phone case with a picture of the famous Ukiyo-e painting called ‘Takiyasha the Witch and the Skeleton Spectre’ (相馬の古内裏 妖怪がしゃどくろと戦う大宅太郎光圀). This is a well-known triptych painting by the artist ‘Kiyoshi Utagawa’. A triptych is a painting divided into three sections, which are often used in ukiyo-e art. Kuniyoshi often painted images of historical or mythical events and produced many series of images which have become famous around the world.

Earlier this year I was having dinner with some friends who were visiting Japan. One of their friends also joined. He said to me “Oh, you must have bought that phone case in Kurashiki” and I told him I did not and asked why. He was surprised and told me that the painting of Takiyasha was in Kurashiki. I had no idea. So, I decided that sometime this year I would go and see the real picture.

I went over to Bikanchiku (the old historical district of Kurashiki) to find the museum it is in. It is called Ukiyo-e Kurashiki in English, though in Japanese it named after Kuniyoshi as it is all art painted or related to him. We arrived about an hour before closing time in very heavy rain. Because of this, there was no one else there and it was very peaceful to look around at all his works. I learnt a lot about Kuniyoshi’s history and saw pieces from many stages of his life. I was surprised how detailed some of his pictures were and could see a lot of inspiration from Hokusai in his works.

In the lowest room of the museum was the Takiyasha. It was amazing to finally see it in person. I am not actually sure if it is original or not. There are many copies of it all around the world. The original is probably the one in Tokyo. On the opposite side of the room was another painting that only has one single copy. It was painted for a shogun on special paper at their request, and no copies are supposed to be made of it. There are several other unique and stunning pictures throughout the gallery, many depicting battles or Japanese spirits (youkai). There is even a café and gift shop at the end of the museum. The café was closed when I went so, I am not sure what it is like.

Sadly, photography was prohibited in the museum, so I was not able to take pictures of all the great ukiyo-e works. If you want to see some of Kuniyoshi’s artworks you can easily find them on the internet, or you could go visit the museum yourself. If you have an interest in uikiyo-e, then I think it is worth checking out.