Utagawa Kuniyoshi was a master of the ‘floating world’, or ukiyo-e, school of art during the late Edo period. In recent years, he has gained a new audience amongst young people in Japan and his reputation has grown on the global stage with major exhibitions of his work in London, New York and Paris.
Kuniyoshi’s works are characterized by inventive design and assured draughtsmanship. They combine themes from Japanese and Chinese classical literature with elements from Western art to produce highly original works that captivate us with their dramatic force and lighter touches of humour and charm. These striking images transcend the conventions of ukiyo-e and reach out to a wider audience.
The Hiyoshi Art and Performance Project is delighted to welcome Yuriko Iwakiri, an ukiyo-e scholar and leading authority on Kuniyoshi, to give our lecture to welcome new students at the beginning of this academic year.
In advance of this lecture, we are holding this mini-exhibition of Kuniyoshi’s ukiyo-e and illustrated books from Keio University’s collection to provide an introductory taste that will hopefully whet your appetite to discover more.
Most of the ukiyo-e are from the highly prized Takahashi Seiichirō Collection and the illustrated books are from the Mita Campus Old Library Collection of Edo-period books. Unfortunately, we are only able to display reproductions of the ukiyo-e rather than the original prints, but many of the books are those that were kept safe from damage during the air raids of the Second World War by Prof. Takahashi and Keio students. Thanks to their efforts, these form part of Keio’s legacy today and we hope they will provide a valuable introduction to Kuniyoshi’s work.
Exploring the global fascination with the ukiyo-e master Utagawa Kuniyoshi
◇Keio University, Hiyoshi Campus, Raiosha, Symposium Space
◇7th October 2017 (Saturday)
◇15.00 – 16.30 (entrance from 14.30)
In Japanese with English translation
Free admission
◆ Lecturer: ◆
Yuriko Iwakiri (岩切友里子)(ukiyo-e researcher)
A graduate of Tokyo University of the Arts, a former curator of the Riccar Art Museum and researcher at the Hiraki Ukiyo-e Museum, Yuriko Iwakiri currently works as an independent scholar and curator of Japanese woodblock prints.
She is widely recognized as an expert on Kuniyoshi and acted as a supervisor for the major exhibition in Tokyo in 2011 commemorating the 150th anniversary of his death and the ‘Fantastique! Kuniyoshi’ exhibition at the Petit Palais in Paris (2015-2016).A graduate of Tokyo University of the Arts, a former curator of the Riccar Art Museum and researcher at the Hiraki Ukiyo-e Museum, Yuriko Iwakiri currently works as an independent scholar and curator of Japanese woodblock prints. She is widely recognized as an expert on Kuniyoshi and acted as a supervisor for the major exhibition in Tokyo in 2011 commemorating the 150th anniversary of his death and the ‘Fantastique! Kuniyoshi’ exhibition at the Petit Palais in Paris (2015-2016).
An mini exhibition of Kuniyoshi’s ukiyo-e and Edo-period illustrated books from Keio University’s collection (in Japanese and English)
◇Keio University, Hiyoshi Library
◇28th July – 31st October 2017 (during library opening hours)
Open to visitors from outside the university.
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