Utagawa kunisada biography of william

Utagawa Kunisada I (歌川國貞 [初代] ) was the most celebrated actor-print designer of the nineteenth century, and certainly the most prolific.

He was born and raised in the Honjô district of Edo, the son of a well-to-do ferry owner. This licensed ferry service provided the family with a measure of financial security that Kunisada was able to access during his early years of printmaking apprenticeship.

His family name was Tsunoda (角田) and given name Shôgorô IX (庄五朗) and also Shôzô (庄蔵).

Utagawa kunisada biography of william shakespeare

[Note: Some have read the kanji for Tsunoda 角田 as "Sumida."]

In , at the age of fourteen or fifteen, he became a pupil of Utagawa Toyokuni I (歌川豊國 ) and took the artist name "Kunisada" (國貞) soon thereafter (see signature image at immediate right).

In 1/ he produced his first independent work — an illustrated promotional brochure for perfumed oil made by Yorozuya Shirobei. The t