Utagawa Yoshimine

Utagawa Yoshimine 歌川芳峯 (active c. 1855-1877)

BIOGRAPHY

Sources: A Dictionary of Japanese Artists: Painting, Sculpture, Ceramics, Prints, Lacquer, Laurance P. Roberts, Weatherhill, 1976, p. 95; The Theatrical World of Osaka Prints, Roger S. Keyes and Keiko Mizushima, David R. Godine in association with Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1973, p. 255 and 279.

An obscure Osaka-based artist, who created several Osaka kabuki prints and a number of nishiki-e shinbun (newspaper color woodblocks 錦絵新聞). We do know that he was from the Utagawa school and a pupil of Utagawa Yoshiume, (1818-1879) an Osaka printmaker and illustrator and a student of the famous Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1798-1861). His family name at birth was Takebe 武部 and his personal name was Yasubei 安兵衛. During his career he used a number of gō including Gyokutei 玉亭, Ichibaisai 一梅斎, Kochōrō 胡蝶楼 and Kyokutei 旭亭.

Signatures and Seals of the Artist (a sampling)

[1] 玉亭 Gyokutei seal; [2] 梅亭芳峯画 Baitei Yoshimine ga; [3] 玉亭 Gyokutei with 寿〓 unread seal; [4] 玉亭芳峰画 Gyokutei Yoshimine ga [5] 芳峯 Yoshimine; [6] 芳峰 Yoshimine with Toshidama seal; [7] 芳峯Yoshimine; [8] 應需芳峰 ōju Yoshimine with 貴翠 Kisui seal