For other figures with similar names, see Chikanobu

Chikanobu

Chikanobu is a Japanese name which can apply to a number of artists of the Edo period:*Kanō Chikanobu of the Kanō school*Matsuno Chikanobu of the Kaigetsudō school*Kitagawa Chikanobu , student of Utamaro...

.

, better known to his contemporaries as , was a prolific woodblock

Woodblock printing in Japan

Woodblock printing in Japan is a technique best known for its use in the ukiyo-e artistic genre; however, it was also used very widely for printing books in the same period. Woodblock printing had been used in China for centuries to print books, long before the advent of movable type, but was only...

 artist of Japan's Meiji period

Meiji period

The , also known as the Meiji era, is a Japanese era which extended from September 1868 through July 1912. This period represents the first half of the Empire of Japan.- Meiji Restoration and the emperor :...

.

Names

Chikanobu signed his artwork . This was his . The artist's was ; and it was published in his obituary.
"Yōshū Chikanobu, who represented in nishiki-e

Nishiki-e

refers to Japanese multi-colored woodblock printing; this technique is used primarily in ukiyo-e. It was invented in the 1760s, and perfected and popularized by the printmaker Suzuki Harunobu, who produced a great many nishiki-e prints between 1765 and his death five years later.Previously, most...

the Great Interior of the Chiyoda Castle and was famous as a master of bijin-ga, had retired to Shimo-Ōsaki at the foot of Goten-yama five years ago and led an elegant life away from the world, but suffered from stomach cancer starting this past June, and finally died on the night of September 28th at the age of seventy-five.

His real name being Hashimoto Naoyoshi, he was a retainer of the Sakakibara clan of Takada domain

Takada Domain

, also known as Takata domain, was an Edo period fiefdom in Echigo province. The region is located south of modern Niigata, which is the capital city of today's Niigata Prefecture....

 in Echigo province

Echigo Province

was an old province in north-central Japan, on the shores of the Sea of Japan. It was sometimes called , with Echizen and Etchū Provinces. Today the area is part of Niigata Prefecture, which also includes the island which was the old Sado Province. This province was the northernmost part of the...

. After the collapse of the Tokugawa Shogunate

Tokugawa shogunate

The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...

, he joined the Shōgitai

Shōgitai

The Shōgitai was an elite corps of the Shogunate during the Bakumatsu period in Japan. The Shōgitai took a large part in the battles of the Boshin war, especially at the Battle of Toba-Fushimi, and the Battle of Ueno, where they were nearly exterminated....

 and fought in the Battle of Ueno

Battle of Ueno

The Battle of Ueno was a battle of the Boshin War, which occurred on July 4, 1868 , between the troops of the Shōgitai under Shibusawa Seiichirō and Amano Hachirō, and Imperial "Kangun" troops....

. After the defeat at Ueno, he fled to Hakodate, Hokkaidō

Hakodate, Hokkaido

is a city and port located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Oshima Subprefecture.Hakodate was Japan's first city whose port was opened to foreign trade in 1854 as a result of Convention of Kanagawa, and used to be the most important port in northern Japan...

, fought in the Battle of Hakodate

Battle of Hakodate

The was fought in Japan from October 20, 1868 to May 17, 1869, between the remnants of the Tokugawa shogunate army, consolidated into the armed forces of the rebel Ezo Republic, and the armies of the newly formed Imperial government...

 at the Goryōkaku

Goryokaku

is a star fort in the city of Hakodate in southern Hokkaidō, Japan. It was the main fortress of the short-lived Republic of Ezo.- History :Built by the Tokugawa shogunate in 1857-1866, it was located in the center of the port of Hakodate, on the island of Hokkaidō...

 star fort

Star fort

A star fort, or trace italienne, is a fortification in the style that evolved during the age of gunpowder, when cannon came to dominate the battlefield, and was first seen in the mid-15th century in Italy....

 under the leadership of Enomoto Takeaki

Enomoto Takeaki

Viscount was a samurai and admiral of the Tokugawa navy of Bakumatsu period Japan, who remained faithful to the Tokugawa shogunate who fought against the new Meiji government until the end of the Boshin War...

 and Ōtori Keisuke

Otori Keisuke

was a Japanese military commander during the last years of the Tokugawa shogunate and the beginning of the Meiji Era.-Early life and education:Ōtori Keisuke was born in Akamatsu Village, in the Akō domain of Harima Province , the son of physician Kobayashi Naosuke...

 achieving fame for his bravery. But following the Shōgitai’s surrender, he was handed over to the authorities in the Takada domain. In the eighth year of Meiji, with the intention of making a living in the way that he was fond of, went to the capital and lived in Yushima-Tenjin town. He became an artist for the Kaishin Shimbun, and on the side, produced many nishiki-e pieces. Regarding his artistic background: when he was younger he studied the Kanō school

Kano school

The ' is one of the most famous schools of Japanese painting. The Kanō school of painting was the dominant style of painting until the Meiji period.It was founded by Kanō Masanobu , a contemporary of Sesshū and student of Shūbun...

 of painting, but later switched to ukiyo-e

Ukiyo-e

' is a genre of Japanese woodblock prints and paintings produced between the 17th and the 20th centuries, featuring motifs of landscapes, tales from history, the theatre, and pleasure quarters...

and studied with a disciple of Keisai Eisen

Keisai Eisen

Keisai Eisen was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist who specialised in bijinga . His best works, including his ōkubi-e , are considered to be masterpieces of the "decadent" Bunsei Era...

; and next joining the school of Utagawa Kuniyoshi , called himself Yoshitsuru. After Kuniyoshi’s death, he studied with Kunisada. Later he studied nigao-e with Toyohara Kunichika, and called himself Isshunsai Chikanobu. He also referred to himself as Yōshū.

Among his disciples were and as a painter of images on fans

Fan (implement)

A hand-held fan is an implement used to induce an airflow for the purpose of cooling or refreshing oneself. Any broad, flat surface waved back-and-forth will create a small airflow and therefore can be considered a rudimentary fan...

 (uchiwa-e), and several others. Gyokuei produced Kajita Hanko. Since only Nobukazu now is in good health, there is no one to succeed to Chikanobu’s bijin-ga, and thus Edo-e, after the death of Kunichika, has perished with Chikanobu. It is most regrettable." — trans. by Kyoko Iriye Selden, Senior Lecturer, Department of Asian Studies, Cornell University, ret'd.

Many of his earliest works were signed . At least one triptych from 12 Meiji (1879) exists signed .

The portrait of the Emperor Meiji

Emperor Meiji

The or was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, reigning from 3 February 1867 until his death...

 held by the British Museum is inscribed .

No works have surfaced that are signed "Toyohara Chikanobu".

Military career

Chikanobu was a retainer of the Sakakibara clan of Takada domain

Takada Domain

, also known as Takata domain, was an Edo period fiefdom in Echigo province. The region is located south of modern Niigata, which is the capital city of today's Niigata Prefecture....

 in Echigo province

Echigo Province

was an old province in north-central Japan, on the shores of the Sea of Japan. It was sometimes called , with Echizen and Etchū Provinces. Today the area is part of Niigata Prefecture, which also includes the island which was the old Sado Province. This province was the northernmost part of the...

. After the collapse of the Tokugawa Shogunate

Tokugawa shogunate

The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...

, he joined the Shōgitai

Shōgitai

The Shōgitai was an elite corps of the Shogunate during the Bakumatsu period in Japan. The Shōgitai took a large part in the battles of the Boshin war, especially at the Battle of Toba-Fushimi, and the Battle of Ueno, where they were nearly exterminated....

and fought in the Battle of Ueno

Battle of Ueno

The Battle of Ueno was a battle of the Boshin War, which occurred on July 4, 1868 , between the troops of the Shōgitai under Shibusawa Seiichirō and Amano Hachirō, and Imperial "Kangun" troops....

.

He joined Tokugawa loyalists in Hakodate, Hokkaidō

Hakodate, Hokkaido

is a city and port located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Oshima Subprefecture.Hakodate was Japan's first city whose port was opened to foreign trade in 1854 as a result of Convention of Kanagawa, and used to be the most important port in northern Japan...

, where he fought in the Battle of Hakodate

Battle of Hakodate

The was fought in Japan from October 20, 1868 to May 17, 1869, between the remnants of the Tokugawa shogunate army, consolidated into the armed forces of the rebel Ezo Republic, and the armies of the newly formed Imperial government...

 at the Goryōkaku

Goryokaku

is a star fort in the city of Hakodate in southern Hokkaidō, Japan. It was the main fortress of the short-lived Republic of Ezo.- History :Built by the Tokugawa shogunate in 1857-1866, it was located in the center of the port of Hakodate, on the island of Hokkaidō...

 star fort

Star fort

A star fort, or trace italienne, is a fortification in the style that evolved during the age of gunpowder, when cannon came to dominate the battlefield, and was first seen in the mid-15th century in Italy....

. He served under the leadership of Enomoto Takeaki

Enomoto Takeaki

Viscount was a samurai and admiral of the Tokugawa navy of Bakumatsu period Japan, who remained faithful to the Tokugawa shogunate who fought against the new Meiji government until the end of the Boshin War...

 and Otori Keisuke

Otori Keisuke

was a Japanese military commander during the last years of the Tokugawa shogunate and the beginning of the Meiji Era.-Early life and education:Ōtori Keisuke was born in Akamatsu Village, in the Akō domain of Harima Province , the son of physician Kobayashi Naosuke...

; and he achieved fame for his bravery.

Following the Shōgitai’s surrender, he was remanded along with others to the authorities in the Takada domain.

Artist's Career

In 1875 (Meiji

Meiji period

The , also known as the Meiji era, is a Japanese era which extended from September 1868 through July 1912. This period represents the first half of the Empire of Japan.- Meiji Restoration and the emperor :...

 8), he decided to try to make a living as an artist. He travelled to Tokyo. He found work as an artist for the Kaishin Shimbun. In addition, he produced nishiki-e

Nishiki-e

refers to Japanese multi-colored woodblock printing; this technique is used primarily in ukiyo-e. It was invented in the 1760s, and perfected and popularized by the printmaker Suzuki Harunobu, who produced a great many nishiki-e prints between 1765 and his death five years later.Previously, most...

 artworks.

In his younger days, he had studied the Kanō school

Kano school

The ' is one of the most famous schools of Japanese painting. The Kanō school of painting was the dominant style of painting until the Meiji period.It was founded by Kanō Masanobu , a contemporary of Sesshū and student of Shūbun...

 of painting; but his interest was drawn to ukiyo-e

Ukiyo-e

' is a genre of Japanese woodblock prints and paintings produced between the 17th and the 20th centuries, featuring motifs of landscapes, tales from history, the theatre, and pleasure quarters...

. He studied with a disciple of Keisai Eisen

Keisai Eisen

Keisai Eisen was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist who specialised in bijinga . His best works, including his ōkubi-e , are considered to be masterpieces of the "decadent" Bunsei Era...

 and then he joined the school of Ichiyūsai Kuniyoshi; during this period, he called himself Yoshitsuru. After Kuniyoshi’s death, he studied with Kunisada. He also referred to himself as Yōshū.

Like many ukiyo-e

Ukiyo-e

' is a genre of Japanese woodblock prints and paintings produced between the 17th and the 20th centuries, featuring motifs of landscapes, tales from history, the theatre, and pleasure quarters...

artists, Chikanobu turned his attention towards a great variety of subjects. His work ranged from Japanese mythology

Japanese mythology

Japanese mythology is a system of beliefs that embraces Shinto and Buddhist traditions as well as agriculturally based folk religion. The Shinto pantheon comprises innumerable kami...

 to depictions of the battlefields of his lifetime to women's fashions. As well as a number of the other artists of this period, he too portrayed kabuki

Kabuki

is classical Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.The individual kanji characters, from left to right, mean sing , dance , and skill...

actors in character, and is well-known for his impressions of the mie

Mie (pose)

The mie pose , a powerful and emotional pose struck by an actor, who then freezes for a moment, is a distinctive element of aragoto Kabuki performance. Mie means 'appearance' or 'visible' in Japanese, and one of the primary purposes of this convention is to draw attention to a particularly...

(mise-en-scène) of kabuki productions.

Chikanobu was known as a master of bijinga

Bijinga

Bijinga , is a generic term for pictures of beautiful women in Japanese art, especially in woodblock printing of the ukiyo-e genre, which predate photography...

,. images of beautiful women, and for illustrating changes in women's fashion, including both traditional and Western clothing. His work illustrated the changes in coiffures and make-up across time. For example, in Chikanobu's images in Mirror of Ages (1897), the hair styles of the Tenmei era, 1781-1789 are distinguished from those of the Keio era, 1865-1867.

His works capture the transition from the age of the samurai to Meiji modernity, the artistic chaos of the Meiji period exemplifying the concept of "furumekashii/imamekashii".

Chikanobu is a recognizable Meiji period

Meiji period

The , also known as the Meiji era, is a Japanese era which extended from September 1868 through July 1912. This period represents the first half of the Empire of Japan.- Meiji Restoration and the emperor :...

 artist, but his subjects were sometimes drawn from earlier historical eras. For example, one print illustrates an incident during the 1855 Ansei Edo earthquake

1855 Ansei Edo earthquake

The , also known as the Great Ansei Earthquake, was one of the major disasters of the late-Edo period. The earthquake occurred at 22:00 local time on 11 November. It had an epicenter close to Edo , causing considerable damage in the Kantō region from the shaking and subsequent fires, with a death...

.
The early Meiji period

Meiji period

The , also known as the Meiji era, is a Japanese era which extended from September 1868 through July 1912. This period represents the first half of the Empire of Japan.- Meiji Restoration and the emperor :...

 was marked by clashes between disputing samurai forces with differing views about ending Japan's self-imposed isolation and about the changing relationship between the Imperial court and the Tokugawa shogunate. He created a range of impressions and scenes of the Satsuma Rebellion

Satsuma Rebellion

The was a revolt of Satsuma ex-samurai against the Meiji government from January 29 to September 24, 1877, 9 years into the Meiji Era. It was the last, and the most serious, of a series of armed uprisings against the new government.-Background:...

 and Saigō Takamori

Saigo Takamori

was one of the most influential samurai in Japanese history, living during the late Edo Period and early Meiji Era. He has been dubbed the last true samurai.-Early life:...

.

Some of these prints illustrated the period of domestic unrest and other subjects of topical interest, including prints like the 1882 image of the Imo Incident

Imo Incident

The Imo Incident, also known as Imo mutiny, was a military revolt of some units of the Korean military in Incheon on July 23, 1882.-Background:A variety of causes for this brief disturbance have been put forward...

, also known as the at right.

Chikanobu's appeared in triptych format. These works documented the First Sino-Japanese War

First Sino-Japanese War

The First Sino-Japanese War was fought between Qing Dynasty China and Meiji Japan, primarily over control of Korea...

 of 1894-1895. For example, the "Victory at Asan" was published with a contemporaneous account of the July 29, 1894 battle.
Among those influenced by Chikanobu were and .

Battle scenes

Examples of include:
Examples of include:
Examples of include:
Examples of include:

Historical pictures

Examples of include:
Recent (Meiji era) history

Ancient history

Famous Places

Examples of include:

Enlightenment pictures

Examples of include:

Theatre scenes

Examples of include:

Women's Pasttimes

Examples of include:
　

Glorification of the Geisha

Examples of this genre include:

Formats

Like the majority of his contemporaries, he worked mostly in the ōban tate-e format. There are quite a number of single panel series, as well as many other prints in this format which are not a part of any series.

He produced several series in the ōban yoko-e format, which were usually then folded cross-wise to produce an album.

Although he is, perhaps, best known for his triptychs, single topics and series, two diptych series are known as well. There are, at least, two polyptych

Polyptych

A polyptych generally refers to a painting which is divided into sections, or panels. The terminology that follows is in relevance to the number of panels integrated into a particular piece of work: "diptych" describes a two-part work of art; "triptych" describes a three-part work; "tetraptych"...

 prints known.

His signature may also be found in the line drawings and illustrations in a number of ehon (絵本), which were mostly of a historical nature. In addition, there are number of sheets of sugoroku

Sugoroku

refers to two different forms of Japanese board game, one similar to western backgammon and the other similar to western Snakes and ladders.Sugoroku plays identically to backgammon , except for the following differences:...

(すごろく) with his signature that still exist and at least one print in the kakemono-e format was produced in his latter years.

Selected works

In a statistical overview derived from writings by and about Hashimoto Toyohara, OCLC

OCLC

OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Inc. is "a nonprofit, membership, computer library service and research organization dedicated to the public purposes of furthering access to the world’s information and reducing information costs"...

/WorldCat

WorldCat

WorldCat is a union catalog which itemizes the collections of 72,000 libraries in 170 countries and territories which participate in the Online Computer Library Center global cooperative...

 encompasses roughly 300+ works in 300+ publications in 2 languages and 700+ library holdings

• 鳥追阿松海上新話. 初編 (1878)
• 鳥追阿松海上新話. 2編 (1878)
• 五人殲苦魔物語. 初編 (1879)
• 艷娘毒蛇淵. 2編上の卷 (1880)
• 白菖阿繁〓末. 3編 (1880)
• 沢村田之助曙草紙. 初編 (1880)
• 浪枕江の島新語. 3編下之卷 (1880)
• 浪枕江の島新語. 3編中之卷 (1880)
• 浪枕江の島新語. 3編上之卷 (1880)
• 浪枕江の島新語. 初編上之卷 (1880)
• 浪枕江の島新語. 2編下之卷 (1880)
• 坂東彥三倭一流. 初編 (1880)
• 川上行義復讐新話. 2編下の卷 (1881)
• 川上行義復讐新話. 初編上之卷 (1881)
• 真田三代記 : 絵本. 初編 (1882)
• 明良双葉艸. 8編上 (1888)
• 明良双葉艸. 5編上 (1888)
• 千代田之大奥 by 楊洲周延 (1895)

Further reading

• Cavaye, Ronald; Paul Griffith; Akihiko Senda and Mansai Nomura. (2004). A Guide to the Japanese Stage: from Traditional to Cutting Edge. Tokyo: Kōdansha. 10-ISBN 4-7700-2987-X/13-ISBN 978-4-7700-2987-4; OCLC 148109695
• Coats, Bruce; Kyoko Kurita; Joshua S. Mostow and Allen Hockley. (2006). Chikanobu: Modernity And Nostalgia in Japanese Prints. Leiden: Hotei. 10-ISBN 90-04-15490-6/13-ISBN 978-90-04-15490-2; 10-ISBN 90-74822-88-6/13-ISBN 978-90-74822-88-6; OCLC 255142506
• Till, Barry. (2010). "Woodblock Prints of Meiji Japan (1868-1912): A View of History Though Art". Hong Kong: Arts of Asia. Vol. XL, no.4, pp. 76–98. ISSN: 0004-4083 OCLC 1514382

External links

• Chikanobu Chikanobu: The Artist's Eye©
• Chikanobu's Neo-Traditionalism Dan McKee
• Chikanobu collection at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
• Chikanobu and Yoshitoshi Woodblock Prints in the Claremont Colleges Digital Library from the Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery, Scripps College
  Scripps College
  Scripps College is a progressive liberal arts women's college in Claremont, California, United States. It is a member of the Claremont Colleges. Scripps ranks 3rd for the nation's best women's college, ahead of Barnard College, Mount Holyoke College, and Bryn Mawr College at 23rd on the list for...