Sekisai Kuniyasu

Sekisai Kuniyasu 石斎国保 (active 1880–1890s)

BIOGRAPHY

Sources: Wikipedia Japan https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%AD%8C%E5%B7%9D%E5%9B%BD%E4%BF%9D; Chats held on the Ukiyo-e Q&A, December 10, 2010 and as noted below.

There is some uncertainty about the identity of this artist. While sometimes referred to as Utagawa Kuniyasu 歌川国保, it is not the print designer Utagawa Kuniyasu 歌川国安 who lived from 1794 to 1832 - note the different kanji characters used in the names of the two Kuniyasus. This collection's Kuniyasu who was active during the 1880s-1890s was also known as Sekisai Kuniyasu 石斎国保, a commonly used signature on his handful of extant prints. He also used Seo 瀬尾 and Haruaki 治明 as gō (artist names). His family name was Seo 瀬尾 and his given name 文治郎 is seen transliterated as both Fumijirō and Bunjirō. On the two prints in this collection his family name is written as 瀬尾文治郎 and as 瀬尾文ニ郎 in the publisher seals.

The Japan Wikipedia entry tell us: [thank you to Art Historian Lynn Katsumoto]

師系不明。本姓は瀬尾、名は文治郎。歌川の画姓を称し石斎と号す。初名は治明という。作画期は明治20年代頃で、深川区西森下町一丁目七番地に住む。

Unknown who his teacher was. Family name was Seo, given name Fumijirō (also read as Bunjirō) 文治郎. He took the name of the Utagawa artist lineage and the name Sekisai. It is said that his name when starting out was 治明 [Haruaki]. He produced work during the Meiji 20s (late 1880s to late 1890s), and lived at Fukagawa-ku Nishimori Shitamachi Itchōme (1 chōme) Nana banchi (7 banchi)*.

* [in the cartouche on this collection's prints the street number is clearly “47”]

Works attributed to Sekisai Kuniyasu can be found in the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (3 works); the British Museum (1 work) and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (1 work), among others.

Beyond the above, nothing else is known about the life of this artist.