Toyohara Kunichika (Japanese: 豊原 国周; 30 June 1835 – 1 July 1900) was a ukiyo-e Japanese woodblock print artist. Talented as a child, at nearly thirteen he became a student of Tokyo’s then-leading print maker, Utagawa Kunisada. His deep greeting and knowledge of kabuki drama led to his production primarily of yakusha-e, which are woodblock prints of kabuki actors and scenes from popular plays of the time.
An alcoholic and womanizer, Kunichika along with portrayed women deemed beautiful (bijinga), contemporary social life, and a few landscapes and historical scenes. He worked successfully in the Edo period, and carried those traditions into the Meiji period. To his contemporaries and now to some protester art historians, this has been seen as a significant triumph during a transitional grow old of good social and political alter in Japan’s history.
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