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Kawanabe Kyosai

Paintings

Kawanabe Kyosai

A Crow and Reeds on the Bank of a Stream

Kawanabe Kyosai

Bird and Frog

Kawanabe Kyosai

Birds on Branch

Kawanabe Kyosai

Blackbird on Bamboo Branch

Kawanabe Kyosai

Buffalo and Herdsman

Kawanabe Kyosai

Cat Catching a Frog

Kawanabe Kyosai

Cranes in Marsh

Kawanabe Kyosai

Crow in a Tree

Kawanabe Kyosai

Crow in Tree

Kawanabe Kyosai

Crow on Rock

Kawanabe Kyosai

Crow on Tree

Kawanabe Kyosai

Deer and Monkeys

Kawanabe Kyosai

Eagle and Rabbit

Kawanabe Kyosai

Eagle Attacking a Fox

Kawanabe Kyosai

Eagle Attacking Fish

Kawanabe Kyosai

Eagle Carrying Off a Monkey

Kawanabe Kyosai

Eagle Defending Its Young

Kawanabe Kyosai

Eagle Holding Small Bird

Kawanabe Kyosai

Fish in a Whirlpool

Kawanabe Kyosai

Flying Crow

Kawanabe Kyosai

Flying Crow

Kawanabe Kyosai

Fox Catching Bird

Kawanabe Kyosai

Kannon Seated Under A Tree

Kawanabe Kyosai

Mice in a Melon, with Birds and Flowers

Kawanabe Kyosai

Monkey Hanging from Grapevines

Kawanabe Kyosai

Monkeys

Kawanabe Kyosai

Owl Mocked by Small Birds

Kawanabe Kyosai

Pheasant Caught by a Snake

Kawanabe Kyosai

Rabbits

Kawanabe Kyosai

Rocky Landscape

Kawanabe Kyosai

Rocky Landscape

Kawanabe Kyosai

Sea with Rocks; Fuji in the Distance

Kawanabe Kyosai

Singing Bird on a Branch

Kawanabe Kyosai

Sparrows in a Large Tree

Kawanabe Kyosai

Squirrels Gathering Chestnuts

Kawanabe Kyosai

Swallows Near a Water-Fall

Kawanabe Kyosai

True Picture of a Live Wild Tiger

Kawanabe Kyosai

Two Birds on a Branch

Kawanabe Kyosai

Two Children Playing with Goldfish

Kawanabe Kyosai

Two Crows on a Tree

Kawanabe Kyosai

Waterfall, Eagle and Monkey

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Kawanabe Kyōsai (河鍋 暁斎?, May 18, 1831–April 26, 1889) was a Japanese artist, in the words of a critic, "an individualist and an independent, perhaps the last virtuoso in traditional Japanese painting".

Living through the Edo period to the Meiji period, Kyōsai witnessed Japan transform itself from a feudal country into a modern state. Born at Koga, he was the son of a samurai. His first aesthetic shock was at the age of nine when he picked up a human head apart from a corpse in the Kanda river. After working for a short time as a boy with Utagawa Kuniyoshi, he received his artistic training in the Kanō school, but soon abandoned the formal traditions for the greater freedom of the popular school. During the political ferment which produced and followed the revolution of 1867, Kyōsai attained a reputation as a caricaturist. His very long painting on makimono "The battle of the farts" may be seen as a caricature of this ferment. He was arrested three times and imprisoned by the authorities of the shogunate. Soon after the assumption of effective power by the Emperor, a great congress of painters and men of letters was held at which Kyōsai was present. He again expressed his opinion of the new movement in a caricature, which had a great popular success, but also brought him into the hands of the police this time of the opposite party.

Kyōsai is considered by many to be the greatest successor of Hokusai (of whom, however, he was not a pupil), as well as the first political caricaturist of Japan. His work mirrored his life in its wild and undisciplined nature, and occasionally reflected his love of drink. Although he did not possess Hokusai's dignity, power or reticence, he compensated with a fantastic exuberance, which always lent interest to his technically excellent draughtsmanship.
Renjishi (連獅子), or "Dance of a Pair of Lions", by Kyōsai. Renjishi is a famous dance in the Kabuki theatre.

In addition to his caricatures, Kyōsai painted a large number of pictures and sketches, often choosing subjects from the folklore of his country, Nô drama, natur and religion, for example The Temptation of Shaka Niorai or The goddess Kwannon on a dragon (on kakejiku frame) A fine collection of these works is preserved in the British Museum; and there are also good examples in the National Art Library at South Kensington and the Guimet Museum at Paris. The Kawanabe Kyōsai Memorial Museum was established in 1977, located at Warabi, Saitama Prefecture, Japan.

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