21 Facts About Kitagawa Utamaro

I n the canon of ukiyo-e artists, Kitagawa Utamaro (c. 1753-1806) stands at the top, respected as one of the three most revered ukiyo-e artists of the Edo period alongside Katsushika Hokusai and Utagawa Hiroshige. Known as an expert on women, Utamaro is renowned for his bijin-ga, or “pictures of beautiful women” and bijin õkubi-e, or “large-headed pictures of beautiful women”, but little is known about his life.

Read on below for 21 facts about the life and work of this artist captured the intimate world of Japanese geishas and courtesans.

1.        Utamaro’s exact date of birth remains a mystery

His exact date of birth is unknown. Kitagawa Utamaro was born Kitagawa Ichitarō, while as an adult he went by the names Yūsuke, and later Yūki, however his exact date of birth is unknown. Early historical accounts speculate he was born in either Kyoto, Osaka, Yoshiwara in Edo (modern-day Tokyo), or Kawagoe in Musashi Province (modern-day Saitama Prefecture), yet scholars have not been able to verify this fact with certainty. The names of his parents also remain unknown, though historians have speculated his father may have been a teahouse owner in Yoshiwara, or the artist Toriyama Sekien who wrote an account of Utamaro playing in his garden as a child.

2.        Utamaro is one of few ukiyo-e artists to achieve fame throughout Japan in his lifetime

Utamaro began his career in an era now considered the golden age of ukiyo-e and is one of very few artists to become famous in his lifetime. His work began to appear in the 1770s, but in the 1790s, Utamaro rose to prominence for his bijin õkubi-e, portraits of beauties with exaggerated features. Unlike bijin-ga of the time which portrayed women in full length, Utamaro’s compositions zoning in on faces and features became an instant hit.

3.        Utamaro revolutionized a new dimension for ukiyo-e prints

While ukiyo-e typically portrayed the pleasures of Edo’s “floating world” in formal fashion, Utamaro depicted the behind-the-scenes of the licensed brothels, theatres, and teahouses. He illustrated women combing their hair, readying themselves for the day, arranging their faces, or simply waiting. Utamaro’s portraits demonstrate that he had intimate knowledge of this hedonistic, subversive “floating world” which coexisted alongside the rigid societal system imposed by the Tokugawa regime.

4.        Utamaro’s first published work is an illustration of eggplants

Over the course of his career, Utamaro produced more than 2000 prints. His first known published work is believed to be an illustration of eggplants in the 1770 haikai poetry anthology, Chiyo no Haru, or Purple Japanese Iris. Several years later, around 1775, Utamaro began using the moniker Toyoaki and produced the cover art for the kabuki playbook Forty-eight Famous Love Scenes.

5.        Utamaro’s prints portraying domestic life suggest he may have been a father

While there are no historical records of his wife or children, a series of prints portraying tender domestic scenes have led scholars to speculate that he did indeed have a wife and child. The prints feature the same woman and child over several years, witnessing the growth of the child and with intimate detail.

6.        Utamaro was a rebel of his time

The Kansei Reforms (1787–1793), which were a series of reactionary edicts and policy changes, cracked down on the publishing industry. Utamaro’s bijin õkubi-e style was among those banned. The shogunate deemed it improper to create artworks depicting ordinary women who were not in the sex or entertainment industries, while including the names of the women was also forbidden. In response to the various prohibitions, from around 1795 to 1796, Utamaro created several hanjie, or pictorial puzzles, which included the names of famed women concealed in riddle form. These were, of course, immediately censored.

7.        Utamaro was involved in one of the most infamous censorship arrests of the Edo period

In 1804, Utamaro was arrested and sentenced to 50 days in manacles for his illustrations of 16th century feudal lord, Toyotomi Hideyoshi. At the time, artists were forbidden from portraying famous political figures, yet Utamaro not only openly painted Hideyoshi, but placed him in lustful poses with his concubines in a message of clear mockery. The paintings are thought to have been Utamaro’s opposition against the Kansei Reforms and the censorship to popular culture, including ukiyo-e. Utamaro went as far as to sign his name on the paintings. The punishment is believed to have caused Utamaro’s health to deteriorate until he eventually passed away two years later in 1806.

8.        Utamaro was talent-spotted and given his career break by leading publisher Tsutaya Jūzaburō

Tsutaya Jūzaburō (1750–97), one of the leading publishers of the time spotted Utamaro’s talent and potential early on. He gave Utamaro his first major job, illustrating the 1781 kibyōshi of A Brief History of the Exploits of a Great Dandy, a heavily illustrated book aimed at the popular market.

9.        Utamaro worked as a commercial “brush for hire”

It was uncommon in Utamaro’s era that artists followed their own path, instead publishers came up with themes that were likely to become a bestseller, and artists were commissioned to bring them to life. The publishing industry was highly competitive, and the prints were sold in vast quantities with tight profit margins. Early in his career, Utamaro produced many pictures of kabuki actors. Such pictures were sold for around a month while a particular kabuki was showing. While later, his works were often to promote geishas and courtesans, with the mission to help generate business for these licenses entertainment districts.

10.        Utamaro also painted insects

Although Utamaro is most famous for his dazzling portrayals of beauties, early in his career Utamaro also created pictures covering events and festivals taking place in Yoshiwara. Expanding beyond the human genre, in 1788, Tsutaya commissioned Utamaro to create illustrations for Picture Book of Selected Insects, one of seven kyōka books Tsutaya published.

11.        Utamaro is also well known for producing shunga

Utamaro not only painted beauties wearing beautiful kimonos and playing musical instruments, but he was also known for his shunga, or “spring pictures”, a genre of Japanese erotic art popular during the Edo period. Utamaro’s extensive and detailed depictions suggest he was a well acquainted insider at Edo’s licensed brothels, in so far that historians have speculated he may even have lived in one of them for some time.

12.        Utamaro had only one teacher, Toriyama Sekien

Toriyama Sekien, a respected artist and illustrator known for his works in ghost and supernatural subjects is thought to be Utamaro’s only teacher. Historical accounts note that Utamaro began training with Sekien at a young age, and the master described his student as talented, devoted, and intelligent.

13.        Utamaro’s work shaped the course of Japonisme

Following the reopening of Japan’s borders in the 1850s, Utamaro’s prints were brought into France, becoming a pivotal influence in the rise of Japonisme. Like his compatriots Hokusai and Hiroshige, Utamaro’s works influenced the Impressionists. His prints were collected by Charles Baudelaire and Edmond de Goncourt, while Claude Monet, Toulouse-Lautrec and Èdouard Manet were avid admirers as well.

14.        Utamaro’s first monograph was published by Edmond de Goncourt

The French art critic Edmond de Goncourt who was a collector of Utamaro’s work teamed up with Japanese art dealer Tadamasa Hayashi and published Outamaro, the first monograph on Utamaro, in 1891.

15.        Three of Utamaro’s most famous works are believed to form a triptych

Moon at Shinagawa (c. 1788-1791), Cherry Blossoms at Yoshiwara (c. 1791-1792) and Fukagawa in Snow (c. 1802-1806) are believed to have possibly been commissioned for a wealth patron as a trio. Each of the three works, all monumental in scale, depicts courtesans at brothels in three of Edo’s most famous pleasure-seeking districts – Shinagawa, Yoshiwara, and Fukagawa – each during a different season.

16.        Utamaro’s Fukagawa in the Snow was lost for 70 years

The three paintings, collectively referred to as Snow, Moon and Flower, were brought to France and exhibited at the 1888 Paris World Expo. While Moon at Shinagawa was acquired by Charles Lang Freer for Smithsonian’s Freer Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. in 1903, Cherry Blossoms at Yoshiwara entered the collection of Wadsworth Antheneum Museum of Art after passing through several hands. Fukagawa in Snow was brought back to Japan from France in the late 1940s, it went on display at the Matsuzaka department store. However, after only several days on display, the painting went missing, until the Okada Museum of Art in Hakone announced its rediscovery in 2014. Fukagawa in Snow is now coming to auction in Masterpieces of Asian Art from the Okada Museum of Art.

17.        Utamaro’s triptych of Snow, Moon and Flower can only be reunited in one country in the world

Owing to a clause in the will of Charles Lang Freer, founder of the Freer Gallery of Art, that forbids any paintings to leave the gallery, even for temporary exhibition, Utamaro’s triptych can only ever be seen together in the US. The last time the three paintings were seen together was in 2017, at the Smithsonian’s Arthur M. Sackler Gallery.

18.        Utamaro first announced his artistic name in 1782

As the story goes, Utamaro announced the artistic name that he would continue to use for the remainder of his career in 1782 at a feast hosted by Tsutaya, with artists Katsukawa Shunshō, Kitao Shigemasa and Kiyonaga, among others, in attendance. In accordance with the custom of the time, Utamaro created a print especially to commemorate the occasion to be given out to the guests. Utamaro’s image was a self-portrait of the artist bowing before a screen bearing the names of the guests at this feast.

19.        Utamaro’s student and successor married his widow

Utamaro did not have any known heirs, but he did teach a number of students, including Kitagawa Tsukimaro, who is believed to have married Utamaro’s widow, and referred to himself as Utamaro II.

20.        Utamaro was posthumously given the name Shōen Ryōkō Shinshi

In accordance with the Buddhist tradition of granting a posthumous ceremonial name, known in Japan as kaimyō, Utamaro was given the name Shōen Ryōkō Shinshi. The ceremony and naming is believed to help guide the deceased in their journey through the afterlife.

21.        Utamaro’s influence can be seen in Julian Opie’s art

Contemporary British artist Julian Opie is a known collector of ukiyo-e, by both Utamaro and Hiroshige. He also has extensive knowledge of Japanese art and has spoken in media interviews of the influence of Japanese art in his own work. Opie has directly credited the influence of Utamaro, incorporated Utamaro’s techniques such as flattened colours and compositional arrangements, into his own work.