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o the tan gorge 1853 what a design this print is what a masterpiece of vision and a synthesis of space and time within three sheets of paper the triptych is very famous and rightly so given the strength of the drawing and the originality of its conception aside from the very obvious story of the hero escaping his captors by jumping into a deep gorge there are other elements of great subtlety at work in the design although the figure of xuande gentoku is the subject of the work kuniyoshi makes him deliberately tiny centre stage but no larger than a child s thumb the print celebrates his escape and his heroism and yet other elements draw us away from the centre panel thus creating an inexplicable air of mystery shogyoku xuande gentoku crossing the tan gorge 1850 s the painting by shogyoku above is a typical rendering of the heroic crossing of the tan gorge the figure is large on the sheet nature is as it should be in zen portrayals overwhelming but visually less important in questioning the smallness of the subject we inevitably have to interrogate the meaning of the other elements it is the action in the left sheet of the kuniyoshi that i want to look at first the small figure of a flute playing child on an ox and the mysterious geological formation to his right what can they mean deatil of the tan gorge by kuniyoshi showing ushidoji well the child playing the flute is ushidoji and his presence alludes to zen buddhism specifically a figure from the chinese poems ten bulls herdboys riding oxen have been used as a motif in painting and graphic arts in china and japan to symbolise the ability of the mind to control the body that is philosophically symbolising the strength of the intellect to rule bodily strength and its physical urges desire fear and lust the ten poems symbolise the awakening mind to zen whereby the ox represents zen itself and the child s struggles to tether it tame it and eventually to ride it poem six thus shows how the child like mind of the boy unencumbered by impure or raging thoughts fearlessly rides the gigantic creature riding the bull home mounting the ox slowly i return homeward the voice of my flute intones through the evening measuring with hand beats the pulsating harmony i direct the endless rhythm whoever hears this melody will join me edo period boy seated on an ox what baffles somewhat and so far is not commented upon in the literature is the curious rocky outcrop to the right of the boy it is drawn in a style that kuniyoshi reserves for trick pictures in this case the drawing looks neither like rocks nor quite like a threatening animated troll which it so much more resembles stop a second and look intently at the arrangement there in the river are the carefully drawn claws there the kneeling limbs stiff torso outstretched arms and blocky head almost the tin man the iron man or a marvel hero in transition once seen the threatening looming creature is hard to unsee the more so when you see that the child so unperturbed seems almost to be calming him with his music the tin man from the wizard of oz 1939 i think there is little doubt that this anthropomorph is an intentional device by kuniyoshi a figure in a similar drawing style appears in a print from kuniyoshi s sixty nine stations of the kisokaido road in print 49 of that series shown below the ghost of a martyred victim of an evil landowner haunts his dreams appearing as he was in life crucified on the screen behind the bed interestingly the ghostly reanimated figure in this print predates the great triptych of the tan gorge by just one year kuniyoshi lord horikoshi no 49 from the series the 69 stations of the kisokaido road 1852 what of the hero of the tan gorge print the print shows one of the heroes from the 14th century popular romance of the three kingdoms one of the great classic novels of chinese literature gentoku on his black horse tekiro plunes into the gorge of tan the setting is 3rd century a d china the following description is from japanese treasure tales by kumasaku tomita and published by yamanaka company in 1906 after he put down an uprising by the yellow ribbon rebels gentoku was rewarded by the emperor and was made governor of yoshu but when the emperor was defeated gentoku lost his position and became homeless a relative of his riu hio took him in and even gave him quarters in a nearby castle this did not please riu hio s wife or relatives and they plotted to kill gentoku his escape took place when surrounded on three sides the only way out was to the west where there was a cliff overlooking a wide river with a fast flowing current as soon as he realized his position gentoku without a moment s delay decided to attempt to escape across the river and without waiting to inform his escort he threw himself on to his favourite horse tekiro and bolted towards the water as soon as it became obvious that the bird was flown a picked body of horsemen was detached in pursuit but gentoku although he knew the apparent hopelessness of his task decided in his own mind that destiny is determined by heaven gave rein to his good horse and dashed into the river no one of his pursuers felt himself called upon to attempt to follow the fugitive into the swirling waters and fate favouring the bold gentoku safely negotiated the dangerous passage and gained the opposite bank thus escaping the snare so carefully set for him after many desperate battles he at length in a d 221 obtained the sovereignty of shoku and died in the following year detail from kuniyoshi xuande gentoku jumps his horse into the tan gorge 1853 in the detail above we see riu hio on the right hand side at the edge of the cliff above him the crenellated walls of the stronghold gentoku rides his panicking horse into the torrent below his face set in determination to overcome the terrible danger of his actions this scene prefigures that of the left sheet the scene of the calm infant ushidoji astride the compliant ox the monstrous anthopomorphic figure of the stone giant looming over the child his arm outstretched but harmless beguiled by the zen calmness of the scene in front the message here is the path of zen by overcoming fear i direct the endless rhythm whoever hears this melody will join me by overcoming fear the world is stilled danger dissipates and peace and success is achieved the print is not a scene of desperate perhaps fatal struggle as it first appears but more a lesson in the art of acceptance meditation and personal inner strength the same theme is played out in another myth famously pictured by yoshitoshi in his print fujiwara no yasumasa plays the flute by moonlight 1883 yoshitoshi fujiwara no yasumasa plays the flute by moonlight 1883 fujiwara no yasumasa 958 1036 was a renowned musician and poet one night yasumasa made his way home through the isolated ichiharano moor he played his flute as he walked while he believed that he was alone amidst the tall grass a bandit lay in wait the robber hakamadare yasusuke planned to attack yasumasa and steal his elegant winter robes yet as the music reached yasusuke s ears he found himself unable to attack he became enchanted by the beauty of the music and followed yasumasa all the way home upon reaching the courtier s home the flautist noticed his unintended audience and offered yasusuke a fine gift of clothing so that he would not leave empty handed xuande gentoku jumps his horse into the tan gorge 1853 by kuniyoshi is in the toshidama gallery autumn collection which is online from the 21st november 2025 for four weeks all works are for sale to receive notifications and discounts on all future sales do join our mailing list here posted in japanese poetry japanese prints japanese woodblock prints kuniyoshi musha e samurai ukiyo e tagged gentoku japanese prints japanese woodblock prints kuniyoshi tan gorge ukiyo e xuande zen buddhism 1 comment art of the print posted on september 19 2025 by toshidama yoshitora okubi e portrait of the actor nakamura shikan as gotobei 1869 the current exhibition of prints at toshidama includes examples of eighteenth century engraving and twentieth century silkscreen printing from notable artists in each discipline alongside truly great prints from nineteenth century woodblock artists kuniyoshi kunisada yoshitaki and kunichika the idea of reproduction in terms of visual arts carries with it a sometimes sniffy reaction as if prints were somehow less important a lesser art form than drawing or painting or sculpture perceived as a secondary art in a sense because of its lack of uniqueness turn this idea over for a while and we see that far from being a poor cousin the artisan made print engraving woodblock etching etc has a greater relevance politically and culturally today than the unique object the woodblock print exists without a previous iteration as a painting or drawing it does however exhibit all of the qualifying characteristics of a genuine made piece of art thus it sits between the unique object of the wealthy collector and the mundane food wrapper of yesterday s news a demotic form the woodblock was both high art and populist at the same time i like very much incidentally that in such a huge genre as kabuki theatre prints the actor character sits in a similar world between role and performer i think that dichotomy has an added depth in a print such as yoshitora s portrait of the actor nakamura shikan as gotobei pictured above are we admiring a unique hand made product or can we conceive a room filled with similar prints from the same blocks in tandem with that dilemma are we admiring the career of nakamura shikan his skill and his attributes or are we thrilling to the conflicted character of gotobei and his tightrope of drunkenness and sobriety of loyalty and careless neglect giovanni battista piranesi 1720 1778 the antiquities of rome 1756 the term print carries the stigma of reproduction as if there exists a superior original but as we see in these examples prints like these exist mainly without precedent yet they do exist as one item of many that are nearly identical for sure their lack of uniqueness or even relative rarity nevertheless make them seem to be painting s lesser cousin this should not be the case and giovanni battista piranesi 1720 1778 is a good example of an artist whose work exists solely in the art of the print we are showing two of his magnificent etchings from the eighteenth century works that were hugely influential precisely because of their distribution as multiples of the same image giovanni battista piranesi 1720 1778 the antiquities of rome 1756 piranesi archaeologist antiquarian and artist created the neo classical movement that followed the relentless publication of his huge prints in several volumes picturing the remains of ancient roman buildings these exquisite prints beautifully drawn and incredibly produced are becoming increasingly popular as the market at last turns its back on cheap reproductions and pale wall art in favour of work that inspires redeems and beautifies r b kitaj chris 1980 the two twentieth century artists we are showing are also famous for their work in print ron kitaj whilst known as a draftsman and painter is equally credited with his revival of fine art printmaking through his relationship with the printmaker and print studio impresario chris prater together throughout the sixties and seventies they encouraged fine artists such as david hockney and peter blake to embrace the art of print as a unique and separate discipline we are showing kitaj s exceptional portrait of chris a striking bold mirror to the stunning okubi e of the yoshitora yoshitaki protecting hachijin castle 1865 no japanese prints of the nineteenth century were limited editions they were what are now called open editions in contemporary art business where relative cash value is ascribed to all works of art the size of an edition its origins its provenance contribute to and affect its asset value in edo japan woodblock prints were available to all it is an irony that the sophisticated value that academics attach to the sequence of editions these are to do with block wear colour variations and so on and are applied to valuable prints by artists such as hokusai and hiroshige these values are as much to do with the influence of japanese art on western painting as on anything inherent in the individual works themselves in other words we have come to affect the notional value of japanese art precisely because of our own valuation of later western culture a good example of this attitude is the spurious inclusion of van gogh s copies of hiroshige s the plum garden at kameido in the excellent recent british museum retrospective of that artist michael knigin woman playing a poppin after utamaro 1979 perhaps a comment on this mixed up relationship should reside with the late american artist michael knigin 1942 2011 his large scale and immaculate limited edition screen prints collide the modern cityscapes of the united states with beautifully redrawn portraits and scenes taken from edo era woodblocks the results are large scale stunning modern prints that comment archly on the commodification of culture and the loss of the casual world of the edo artist kuniyoshi scene from the play imoseyama onna teikin 1849 the art of the print is at toshidama gallery from the 19th september 2025 for six weeks all prints are for sale posted in art collector japanese prints japanese woodblock prints kabuki theatre kunichika kunisada kuniyoshi screenprints ukiyo e woodblock print yoshitora tagged art of the print etching japanese prints japanese woodblock prints kabuki kunichika kunisada kuniyoshi michael knigin piranesi rb kitaj ron kitaj screenprint toshidama gallery ukiyo e woodblock print leave a comment buyers beware posted on august 3 2025 by toshidama kunichika ichikawa danjuro in the play butai akaruki chisei no yoshibai 1878 surprisingly the print above ichikawa danjuro in the play butai akaruki chisei no yoshibai is for sale at toshidama gallery for 175 plus 12 50 uk postage and packing that s it surprising because there are no further charges no hidden cost no transaction fees currency exchange fees premiums extortionate postage handling or packing charges no third parties and no obfuscation if you don t like the print you send it back and we will refund you this has happened i think once in fifteen years of online trading but you might say online auctions are so much cheaper the print above also by kunichika was sold at an online auction aggregator site for 1 199 in addition the buyer would have paid a massive 29 premium to the auction house plus further additional fees for card payments currency exchange and online aggregator fees on top of that third party packing and postage is typically an extortionate 100 from the united states to the uk i would estimate that the kunichika triptych would end up costing a uk buyer around 1 700 a full 500 more than they paid for it ...