Edutainment > Yoshitsuya Koko - 1822-1866

Japanese Prints - Info
Smoking Gun
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Yoshitsuya Koko was a Japanese printmaker from the late Edo period when this era of political stability, isolation and social opression was in its decline and final stage. Probably under the influence of his teacher, Kuniyoshi Utagawa, Yoshitsuya had specialized in woodblock prints of warriors and events from Japan's history and legends.

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Pupil of Kuniyoshi Utagawa

Yoshitsuya was a pupil of the successful ukiyo-e artist Kuniyoshi Utagawa. Kuniyoshi had made himself a name with woodblock prints depicting warriors and figures from Japan's past and from Chinese literature. Yoshitsuya followed in his master's foot steps regarding the choice of his print genre.

The Tenpo Reforms of 1841/42

Toyotomi Hideyoshi
Hisago Gundan Gojuyo Jo
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Yoshitsuya Koko was born into the late phase of the Edo period. In 1822, the clan of the Tokugawa family had ruled Japan for more than 200 years. In 1840 the country was in a desolate state. Crop failures with following famines and economic recessions caused uproars among the towns people.

The ruling shogunate was about to lose its former tight control over Japan and tried to turn things around with the Tenpo reforms of 1841/42. New laws aimed at curbing "luxury" and tightening censorship. Ukiyo-e print- and book-making had come into the focus of the "reforms". A number of restrictions was imposed on ukiyo-e makers:

• Multipanels with more than 3 sheets were banned, as well as the use of more than 8 colors on one print.
• The price for an ukiyo-e print was fixed by the state on a low level to make "de luxe" printing difficult.
• Actor and courtesan prints were banned - the main business of the ukiyo-e makers.

On the Safe Side with Warrior Prints

Tokugawa Bakufu
Battle of Lances
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The new censorship laws encouraged publishers and printmakers to turn their activities to events from Japan's history and legends with one exception: Prints showing members of the ruling Tokugawa family were strictly disallowed.

Kuniyoshi had been in trouble with censorship more than once. His student Yoshitsuya had certainly experienced these woes and may have chosen for himself the "warrior genre" as a safe ground.

54 Battle Stories of Hisago (Hideyoshi)

The 54 Battle Stories of Hideyoshi are a major work by Yoshitsuya. The series shows 54 events from the wars fought by Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-1598), the second unifier of Japan. The series is kept in oban-tate-e format (portrait) and is recognizable by the distinctive pattern of a border design. The compositions are full of action. The prints are inexpensive and offer a lot of interesting details.

The Scenic Places of Tokaido

Tokaido Meisho no Uchi
The Scenic Places of Tokaido
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The series The Scenic Places of Tokaido ("Tokaido meisho-no-uchi") was made in 1863 as a teamwork of different publishers and different artists who were considered the best at that time. Officially the series was meant to commemorate the procession from Edo to Kyoto by Shogun Iemochi to pay his respect to the emperor.

The whole series was in my view meant as a public relations measure to brush up the battered image of the ruling Tokugawa shugun. I personally assume that this publication was commissioned and financed by the shogun's administration.

Yoshitsuya was a major contributor to the series next to overall 19 artists, among them all important printmakers of the era like

• Kunisada Utagawa also: Toyokuni III (1786-1864) - 18 designs.
• Kunichika Toyohara (1835-1900)
• Kyosai Kawanabe (1831-1889)
• Kuniyoshi Utagawa.
• Yoshitora Utagawa (active ca. 1840-1880)
• Yoshitoshi Taiso (1839-1892)

Death at Age 44

Ukiyo-e
Water Battle
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Yoshitsuya died only 3 years after the publication of the series Tokaido meisho-no-uchi at age 44 in 1866. Two years later the last shogun was forced to resign. The Edo period had ended and was replaced by the Meiji period (1868-1912) under the formal rule of emperor Meiji. A new era in Japan's history had begun.

Yoshitsuya - Then and Now

At life time Yoshitsuya Koko was more esteemed as a printmaker than in our days. His woodblock print designs are full of details. Today's collectors may regard most as "cluttered".

Each period, each generation and even each decade has different tastes, fashions and trends. In other words, what we regard today as "good" or "bad" art, is in reality influenced by our current social and personal circumstances, the current state of thinking in which we live. There is no absolute measure of ranking in arts. It is all relative. That is my personal view.

Collectors Choices

The Naval Battle of Dannoura
The Showdown at Dannoura (The Heike)
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What may make Yoshitsuya's print less covetable by today's art friends, namely the rich details, makes them on the other hand interesting as historical documents.

I have been interested in history since my childhood. Especially Japanese medieval history is quite captivating. It is not by coincidence that the Japanese film industry caught worldwide attention and respect with films that deal with the medieval history of Japan. The feudal wars of the Taira and Minamato, the Gempei wars - are a great background for woodblock prints, kabuki theater plays, films and even video games alike.

But also under aesthetic aspects, Yoshitsuya made some excellent prints. Mainly the tryptychs with scenes from Japan's history or legends are in my view a good purchase.

Dieter Wanczura
(August 2009)

Literature source used for this biography of Yoshitsuya Koko

• Laurance, P.Roberts, "A Dictionary of Japanese Artists", John Weatherhill Inc., New York, 1976.
• Friedrich B. Schwan, "Handbuch Japanischer Holzschnitt", 2003, IUDICIUM Verlag, Postfach 701067, D-81310 München, ISBN 3-89129-749-1

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