Japanese Woodblock by Utagawa Kunisada I (Toyokuni III), c. 1840

An original woodblock depicting a geisha on the side of a river with a striking geometric floor pattern characteristic of Kunisada I (1786-1865). The print is signed in the bottom right-hand corner ‘Toyokuni monjin Kunisada ga‘ (drawn by Toyokuni‘s pupil Kunisada) which Kunisada used in some early prints. It has a single round censor’s seal reading kiwame ("approved") which dates it to 1841 or earlier. 1842 was when individual censors started using individual round seals, bearing characters from their names.

The woodblock is in good, bright condition. It has some creasing and minor rubbing to the bottom edge, but no worm holes, tears or other issues.

Kunisada was born as Tsunoda Sh?gor? IX in the Honjo district of Edo in the year 1786. He entered the school of Utagawa Toyokuni I (1769-1825), the leading actor-print designer of his time, around 1800 as apprentice in the age of fourteen. His first printed works began to appear in early 1807 and he was awarded the last character of his master´s name to form his own, so he chose the name Kunisada. Kunisada was active for a long time as the central figure in the Utagawa School. He was the most popular, prolific and commercially successful designer of ukiyo-e woodblock prints in 19th-century Japan. The poet Tenmei R?jin (1781-1861) praised him as one of the three greatest ukiyo-e masters of the day, alongside Hiroshige and Kuniyoshi.