Today’s Painting
今日畫作
Utagawa Kuniyoshi was one of the last great masters of the Japanese ukiyo-e style of woodblock prints and painting. He was a member of the Utagawa school. The range of Kuniyoshi's subjects included many genres: landscapes, beautiful women, Kabuki actors, and mythical animals. He is known for depictions of the battles of legendary samurai heroes. His artwork incorporated aspects of Western representation in landscape painting and caricature.
歌川國芳是日本浮世繪風格木刻版畫和繪畫的最後一批大師之一。他曾是歌川學校的成員。國芳的繪畫題材包括許多類型：風景，美麗的女人，歌舞伎演員和神話動物。他因描繪傳說中的武士英雄之戰而聞名。他的藝術作品結合了西方在山水畫和漫畫中的表現形式。
Despite his promising debut, the young Kuniyoshi failed to produce many works between 1818 and 1827, probably due to a lack of commissions from publishers, and the competition of other artists within the Utagawa school (Utagawa-ryū). His economic situation turned desperate at one point when he was forced to sell used tatami mats.
儘管初次登場前途大好，年輕的國芳卻未能在1818年至1827年間創作出許多作品，這可能是因為缺乏出版商的佣金，以及與歌川學院內其他畫家產生競爭。他的經濟狀況一度陷入了絕境，當時不得不出售二手榻榻米墊子。
During the 1820s, Kuniyoshi produced a number of heroic triptychs that show the first signs of an individual style. In 1827 he received his first major commission for the series, The Hundred and Eight Heroes of The Popular Suikoden (Tūszoku Suikoden gōketsu hyakuhachinin no hitori), based on the incredibly popular Chinese tale, the Shuihu Zhuan. In this series Kuniyoshi illustrated individual heroes on single sheets, drawing tattoos on his heroes, a novelty which soon influenced Edo fashion. The Suikoden series became extremely popular in Edo, and the demand for Kuniyoshi’s warrior prints increased, gaining him entrance into the major ukiyo-e and literary circles.
在1820年代，國芳繪製了許多英勇的三聯畫，開始展現出個人風格。1827年，他在《流行水滸傳的108位好漢》這一系列上，獲得了第一個重要委託。這個系列是基於中國受歡迎的故事《水滸傳》。在本系列中，國芳在單張紙上畫出了各個英雄，並在英雄人物上畫了紋身，這一點很新穎並很快影響了江戶時代的時尚。《水滸傳》系列在江戶時代極其受歡迎，人們對國芳繪製的武士版畫的需求也增加了，這使他得以躋身於浮世繪和文學界。
Utagawa Kuniyoshi was a huge cat lover. It was said that his studio was full of them. That love spilled into his art. On this woodcut we see court ladies showing a giant snow cat to a young prince Genji after the first snow.
歌川國芳特別痴迷貓。據說他的工作室裡都是貓。這份對貓的喜愛也影響了他的藝術。在這張木刻版畫上，我們看到宮廷女士在初雪後向年輕的王子源治展示了一隻巨大的雪貓。
Artist Introduction
畫家簡介
Utagawa Kuniyoshi was one of the last great masters of the Japanese ukiyo-e style of woodblock prints and painting. He was a member of the Utagawa school. The range of Kuniyoshi's subjects included many genres: landscapes, beautiful women, Kabuki actors, and mythical animals. He is known for depictions of the battles of legendary samurai heroes. His artwork incorporated aspects of Western representation in landscape painting and caricature.
歌川國芳是日本浮世繪風格木刻版畫和繪畫的最後一批大師之一。他曾是歌川學校的成員。國芳的繪畫題材包括許多類型：風景，美麗的女人，歌舞伎演員和神話動物。他因描繪傳說中的武士英雄之戰而聞名。他的藝術作品結合了西方在山水畫和漫畫中的表現形式。
Despite his promising debut, the young Kuniyoshi failed to produce many works between 1818 and 1827, probably due to a lack of commissions from publishers, and the competition of other artists within the Utagawa school (Utagawa-ryū). His economic situation turned desperate at one point when he was forced to sell used tatami mats.
儘管初次登場前途大好，年輕的國芳卻未能在1818年至1827年間創作出許多作品，這可能是因為缺乏出版商的佣金，以及與歌川學院內其他畫家產生競爭。他的經濟狀況一度陷入了絕境，當時不得不出售二手榻榻米墊子。
During the 1820s, Kuniyoshi produced a number of heroic triptychs that show the first signs of an individual style. In 1827 he received his first major commission for the series, The Hundred and Eight Heroes of The Popular Suikoden (Tūszoku Suikoden gōketsu hyakuhachinin no hitori), based on the incredibly popular Chinese tale, the Shuihu Zhuan. In this series Kuniyoshi illustrated individual heroes on single sheets, drawing tattoos on his heroes, a novelty which soon influenced Edo fashion. The Suikoden series became extremely popular in Edo, and the demand for Kuniyoshi’s warrior prints increased, gaining him entrance into the major ukiyo-e and literary circles.
在1820年代，國芳繪製了許多英勇的三聯畫，開始展現出個人風格。1827年，他在《流行水滸傳的108位好漢》這一系列上，獲得了第一個重要委託。這個系列是基於中國受歡迎的故事《水滸傳》。在本系列中，國芳在單張紙上畫出了各個英雄，並在英雄人物上畫了紋身，這一點很新穎並很快影響了江戶時代的時尚。《水滸傳》系列在江戶時代極其受歡迎，人們對國芳繪製的武士版畫的需求也增加了，這使他得以躋身於浮世繪和文學界。
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