Original Woodblock Print Toyohara Kunichika "Beauty Koina under the Moon" (c1881)

A luminous and atmospheric bijin-ga by Toyohara Kunichika (豊原国周, 1835–1900), one of the most influential woodblock print artists of the late Edo to Meiji period. This print, dating to around 1881, depicts the courtesan Koina, a figure of refined grace and melancholy, standing on a veranda beneath a bright moon. The delicate gradations of night sky and the refined handling of fabric and gesture reveal Kunichika’s gift for psychological nuance within traditional ukiyo-e form.

Kunichika was a pupil of Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III), and his work bridges the transition from Edo’s pleasure-district imagery to the Meiji era’s modern sensibility. His prints often feature courtesans, kabuki actors, and beauties (bijin), yet his palette—rich in saturated reds, blues, and violets—reflects the introduction of aniline dyes imported during Japan’s modernization period. This new vibrancy gave his late works a distinctive mood, blending nostalgia for the floating world with a modern chromatic intensity.

In this scene, the viewer senses a quiet tension between stillness and transience: the poised woman under the moonlight evokes both elegance and solitude, a theme central to late ukiyo-e aesthetics. The inset cartouche above bears a poem and a peony sketch, reinforcing the motif of ephemeral beauty (mono no aware).

Details:

• Artist: Toyohara Kunichika (豊原国周, 1835–1900)

• Title: Beauty Koina under the Moon (月下の小稲, tentative translation)

• Date: c. 1881 (Meiji 14)

• Medium: Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

• Series: From Thirty-Six Selected Flowers of the Pleasure Quarters (花選三十六姿, Edo no Hana Sanjūrokkasen)

• Format: Oban tate-e

• Publisher: Likely Gusokuya Kahei

• Signature: 国周画 (Kunichika ga) in lower left cartouche

• Condition: Good color and impression; minor toning and age wear. Trimmed and laid down on board.

About the Artist:
Toyohara Kunichika, born Oshima Yasohachi in Edo, trained under Utagawa Kunisada and became one of the preeminent printmakers of Meiji Japan. Known for his dynamic actor portraits and expressive bijin-ga, Kunichika captured the rapidly changing urban culture of Tokyo during Japan’s modernization. His use of Western perspective, intense color, and theatrical composition situates his work at the intersection of tradition and innovation—preserving the spirit of Edo’s floating world while embracing the visual language of a new era.

This print exemplifies Kunichika’s mature style: elegant, expressive, and richly atmospheric—a quiet homage to beauty at the threshold of modernity.