Toyohara Chikanobu Woodblock Prints of Heroes and Heroines 1898

Please click on each image to enlarge and for prices


Heroes and Heroines in the Tale of Heike - Hasebe Nobutsura CHT7 $175	Heroes and Heroines in the Tale of Heike - damage in central fold CHT24 $125


Heroes Heroes and Heroines in the Tale of Heike - Final Battle at the Shore - Kumagai and Atsumori CHT9 SOLD	Heroes and Heroines in the Tale of Heike - Samurai and Horse Heading for a Battle CHT12 $175


Heroes and Heroines in the Tale of Heike - Kusunoki Masashige CHT22 $155	FromHeroes and Heroines in the Tale of Heike - "Gikeiki", Benkei sneaks up on Ushiwakamaru playing the flute on Gojo bridge CHT16 $175


Heroes and Heroines in the Tale of Heike - Shizuka Gozen CHT19 $155	Heroes and Heroines in the Tale of Heike - Shigemori CHT20 $175

Toyohara Chikanobu (Yoshu Chikanobu) 1838-1912 lived through a tumultuous time in Japanese history. In 1853, Commodore Matthew Perry of the U.S. Navy sailed into Tokyo Harbor and threatened to fire on the city if Japan did not agree to open up trade to the West.

Chikanobu showed early artistic abilities, and was for a time a student of the great ukiyo-e artists Kunisada, Kuniyoshi and Kunichika. Diverting from art, he became a famous Samurai, noted for his bravery, fighting the Battles of Ueno & Hakidate. Following the collapse of the pro-isolations forces and his subsequent 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. As a ukiyo-e artist, he produced a wide range of work, from illustrations of the samurai warriors and battlefields to Japanese mythology and the history of fashion & beautiful women. His use of colour is remarkable, a portent of the palette of the impressionists.

While perhaps under appreciated, he is beginning to be recognized as an important artist of the Meiji period. In 2007 a definitive work was published by Hotei Chikanobu-Modernity and Nostalgia in Japanese prints by Bruce Arthur Coats. In 2011 the Morikami Museum of Delray Beach staged an exhibit Modernity and Nostalgia: Woodblock Prints by Toyohara (Yoshu) Chikanobu.