Kido airaku no uchi.

Artist:

Toyokuni III / Utagawa Kunisada I (1786 – 1864) / Utagawa Toyokuni III

Toyokuni was the most popular, prolific and financially successful designer of ukiyo-e woodblock prints in 19th-century Japan. In his own time, his reputation far exceeded that of his contemporaries, Hokusai, Hiroshige and Kuniyoshi.

In 1844, he adopted the name of his master Toyokuni I, and for a brief time used the signature Kunisada becoming Toyokuni II. From 1844-1845, all of his prints are signed Toyokuni. Although Kunisada referred to himself as Toyokuni II, he in fact ignored Toyoshige, a pupil and son-in-law of Toyokuni I, who had previously taken the name Toyokuni II, as  the legitimate head of the Utagawa school, from 1825 until his own death in 1835. As consequence it is now accepted that in fact Kunisda although his woodblocks are signed Toyokuni II he is known as Toyokuni.