Woodblock Print: Ukiyo-e, A Tea Party by Toyokuni II

Signed “Kōchōro Toyokuni-ga,” this section of Toyokuni II’s triptych named “A Tea Party” focuses on a character making tea based on the various utensils that surround them. The character is part of a scene from the story of The Tale of Genji, but it is unknown who they represent. The overall piece is part of a genre of art called ukiyo-e, a popular form of art during the Edo Period (1603-1868) that depicted a wide variety of topics. Toyokuni II (1777-1835), as a small-time artist, specialized in creating ukiyo-e depicting natural landscapes or Bijin-ga, portraits of women. The triptych here likely belongs to the bijin-ga category, as seen with the emphasis placed on the character’s physical appearance in this section and another.

Andreas Marks. Japanese Woodblock Prints : Artists, Publishers, and Masterworks, 1680-1900 /.
Tokyo ; Rutland, Vt. : Tuttle Pub., 2010.

““Featured Object: Woodblock Print: Ukiyo-e a Tea Party by Toyokuni II,” n.d.
https://www.spurlock.illinois.edu/blog/p/featured-object-woodblock/50.

“Lyon Collection : Artist : Utagawa Toyokuni II (二代目歌川豊国) [Utagawa Toyokuni II],”
n.d. https://woodblockprints.org/index.php/Detail/entities/36.

Photo: Heritage Spring 1990, p. 2.

Toyokuni ii (toyoshige) | the art of Japan. Accessed December 6, 2024.
https://theartofjapan.com/artist/toyokuni-ii-toyoshige.

Utagawa Toyoshige (歌川豊重 Toyokuni ii) | british museum. Available at:
https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/BIOG6956 (Accessed: 06 December 2024).

Woodblock Print: Ukiyo-e, a Tea Party by Toyokuni II, Search the Collection, SpurlockMuseum, U of I,” n.d. https://www.spurlock.illinois.edu/collections/search-collection/details.php?a=1900.43.0019A.