Yūsai Toshiaki

Yūsai Toshiaki 幽斎年章 (1864-1921)

BIOGRAPHY

Sources: Courage and Silence: A Study of the Life and Color Woodblock Prints of Tsukioka Yoshitoshi: 1839-1892, Roger Keyes, 1982, p. 546; the website of J. Noel Chiappa https://www.yoshitoshi.net/students.html [accessed 1-3-24]; website of the Japan Art Conservation Society 日本美術保全協会 https://www.nihon-bijyutu.com/area/?s=%E5%B1%B1%E6%A2%A8%E7%9C%8C [accessed 1-3-24]

Artist names (gō): Nakazawa Toshiaki 中澤年章 (中沢年章); Yūsai 幽斎, Nenkō 年甲

Family name: Nakazawa 中澤

Given name. Entarō 延太郎

A student of Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839-1892), Toshiaki was born into a farming family in Fuse village, in Kai Province (present day Yamanashi Prefecture), west of Edo. It is reported that he may have met Yoshitoshi in 1871 when Yoshitoshi visited the province. Around 1898, after the demand for ukiyo-e slackened, he returned to his home province and painted, focusing on traditional subject, painted in the literati style of Southern Chinese School.

He was better known as a traditional Japanese painter than as a woodblock artist. His specialties were bijin-ga; images of both historical and contemporary people; action scenes, including triptychs and an album of prints (see below) of the Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895) which showed his excellent drawing ability.

Nisshin kosen sugoroku 日清交戦寿語禄

Source: Waseda University Libary

https://archive.wul.waseda.ac.jp/kosho/bunko10/bunko10_08488/bunko10_08488_0001/bunko10_08488_0001_p0001.jpg

[accessed 1-3-24]

Signatures and Seals of the Artist (a sampling)

[1] 年章画 Toshiaki ga with 幽齋 Yūsai seal (1895); [2] 年章 Toshiaki with 年章 Toshiaki seal (1897) [3] 年章 Toshiaki with unread seal; [4] 幽齋年章作 Yūsai Toshiaki saku with 幽齋 Yūsai seal