title: Die nishiki'e-Karikaturen von Kuniyoshi
Creators: name: Deushi Brandl, Noriko
Publisher: name: :none
Year: 2009

description: Ziel dieser Arbeit ist es, durch genaue Untersuchungen ausgewählter nishiki’e -Karikaturen (fūshi nishiki’e) politischen Inhalts von Kuniyoshi (15. 11. Kansei 9 - 5. 3. Bunkyū 1: 1798-1861), dessen politisches Bewusstsein herauszuarbeiten und auf Kuniyoshis bisher wenig bekannte Seite als Karikaturist aufmerksam zu machen.
description: The purpose of this research is to get a clear picture of Kuniyoshi as an active caricaturist by analysing his political nishiki’e-caricatures which were extremely risky at that time. Most of them are unknown in literature until today. Furthermore, I would like to determine Kuniyoshi’s important role as a caricaturist by which he succeeded in waking up and supporting the great interest of the citizens in Edo in the feudal-politics of the shogunate’s government. Kuniyoshi, one of the most important nishiki’e artists at the end of Edo period, was born at 15th 11. Kansei 9 (1. 1. 1798) in Edo Nihonbashi. Since the age of 13, he has been a member of the ukiyo’e-school of Toyokuni I. In 1827 he gained fame after publishing the series Tsūzoku Suikoden gōketsu hyakuhachinin no hitori (One hundred and eight heroes of the popular Suikoden) and therefore he was called the great master of hero-picture. From the 6th month of 1842 the production of yakusha’e (actors’ pictures) and bijinga (courtesans’ pictures) was prohibited as one of the measures of the Tenpō reforms. This led to the greatest damage in the nishiki’e-world, because these were the most popular motifs of nishiki’e. However also during that time Kuniyoshi continued to be very successful. He produced quite a big amount of interesting caricatures of high level and through them protested against the reform-politics. In autumn 1855 he began suffering from cerebral apoplexy. Although he lost his high technical capacity of painting during his dicease, he did not stop to work. He carried on painting caricatures but only in primitive outlines and simple compositions. He also continued teaching and supporting a great number of his students until his last day, the 5th 3. 1861. It is evident that Kuniyoshi was the key-person of the catfish picture (namazu’e) boom in 1855 and that he, even after his death, was responsible for the great success of the caricatures during the Boshin-war (Boshinsensō’e) in 1868/69. In the first chapter I examine the bibliographical data of Kuniyoshi and the results of research about nishiki’e caricatures. I try to find out why there are so very few references to his caricatures, although this is one of the very important categories of his achievements. Furthermore I explain my method of analysing caricatures. In the second chapter I try to define what is a “nishiki’e caricature”. At first I examine the illustrated storybook with yellow covers (kibyoshi) as one of the important image sources and I compare the broadsheets (kawaraban), as they are the most similar prints, and the nishiki’e caricatures. The strong limitation of the nishiki’e which were mass-produced commercial publications during the Tenpō reforms is researched precisely. In the third chapter I focus on the artistic career of Kuniyoshi, especially as a caricaturist, which is divided into three periods. Also the relationship between Kuniyoshi, his many pupils and his best partner, the comic tanka poet Umenoya will be explained. His strong interest in European style painting must be emphasized. In the fourth chapter I systematize Kuniyoshi’s caricature techniques and 40 of his prohibited caricatures are analysed exactly in details.