Utagawa Yoshifusa – Woodblock Artist of the late Edo Period
Also known as: 歌川 芳房
Utagawa Yoshifusa (歌川 芳房, active mid-19th century)
Utagawa Yoshifusa was a Japanese woodblock print designer of the late Edo period, affiliated with the influential Utagawa school. Like many artists of the school, he adopted the Utagawa surname after entering as a pupil, in his case under Utagawa Kunisada I (Toyokuni III), one of the most prolific and popular ukiyo-e masters of the time. His personal art name was Yoshifusa (芳房), which identifies him within the lineage of Kunisada’s pupils who took names beginning with Yoshi-. His prints include actor portraits (yakusha-e), bijin-ga (images of beautiful women), and illustrations for books, often showing the strong stylistic influence of Kunisada.
Yoshifusa’s work contributed to the wide circulation of kabuki imagery and popular culture in the 1840s–1850s. Prints signed “Utagawa Yoshifusa ga” (drawn by Yoshifusa of the Utagawa school) survive in various museum and private collections.
On the name:
Utagawa is the art-school surname he adopted when he joined the Utagawa school.
Yoshifusa is his art name (gō), and is the part used to distinguish him from other Utagawa artists. So properly, when referring to him alone, he is called Yoshifusa.
