Tsuruya Kokei
弦屋光溪
Also known as: Mitsui Gen, 三井弦, Tsuruya Koukei
1946
Japan
Biography
Tsuruya Kokei, born Gen Mitsui in Chigasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture in 1946, is a contemporary Japanese woodblock print artist celebrated for his kabuki actor portraits. Despite coming from an artistic family — his father was a painter and his grandfather was the Western-style painter and printmaker Nakazawa Hiromitsu — Kokei did not attempt creating art until the age of 32, when he was profoundly inspired by a kabuki performance.
From 1978 to 2000, Kokei produced woodblock prints of the actors performing at the Kabuki-za Theater in Tokyo, sold at the theater box office during the run of each play he depicted, completing approximately 12 limited-edition designs annually. Following the sosaku-hanga principle of self-creation, Kokei designed, carved, and printed every work himself on fine ganpi paper, applying traditional techniques such as gofun (white pigment) and mica for deluxe impressions. Each edition was limited to 72 prints, required 40 days to complete, and the blocks were destroyed afterward.
After twenty-two years of actor prints, Kokei stopped producing them in 2000 and in the years that followed expanded beyond the stage, developing self-portraits and other subjects. He later created a series paying tribute to the ukiyo-e masters who inspired his career. His work is held by the British Museum, Minneapolis Institute of Art, and Yale University Art Gallery.
Key Facts
- Active Period
- 1946
- Nationality
- 🇯🇵Japan
- Movements
- Contemporary MokuhangaSōsaku-hanga
- Works Indexed
- 86
Frequently Asked Questions
Tsuruya Kokei, born Gen Mitsui in Chigasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture in 1946, is a contemporary Japanese woodblock print artist celebrated for his kabuki actor portraits. Despite coming from an artistic family — his father was a painter and his grandfather was the Western-style painter and printmaker Nakazawa Hiromitsu — Kokei did not attempt creating art until the age of 32, when he was profoundly inspired by a kabuki performance.
Tsuruya Kokei was active born in 1946. They were associated with the Contemporary Mokuhanga and Sōsaku-hanga movements.
Tsuruya Kokei's work was shaped by the Contemporary Mokuhanga and Sōsaku-hanga traditions in Japanese woodblock printmaking. Contemporary Mokuhanga: Contemporary mokuhanga (literally "wood-block print") encompasses artists working from approximately 1970 to the present who continue or reinvent traditional Japanese woodblock printing techniques. Sōsaku-hanga: ## What is sōsaku-hanga? Sōsaku-hanga (創作版画, "creative prints") was a twentieth-century Japanese print movement defined by a single commitment: the artist must design, carve, and print every work alone.
Tsuruya Kokei's prints frequently feature kabuki, portraits, warriors, bijin-ga, still life, figures.
Original prints by Tsuruya Kokei can be found in collections including British Museum, Honolulu Museum of Art, ukiyo-e.org, Minneapolis Institute of Arts.
Woodblock Prints by Tsuruya Kokei (86)
(Outing in the Autumn Filed)
c. 1830-1844
Woodblock print
(Houseboat and moon)
c. 1854-1859
Woodblock print
Fingered citron — 仏手柑
1939
Woodblock print
Benkei
1980
Woodblock print
Yotsuya kaidan
June 1983
Woodblock print
The Actor Nakamura Utaemon VI as Tonase in Kanadehon Chushingura / Okubi-e (Bust Portraits, Series IV)
March 1983
Woodblock print
Bando Tamasaburo V as Agemaki of the Miuraya 五世坂東玉三郎の三浦屋揚巻 / Okubie (Bust Portraits, Series III)
1983
Woodblock print
Portrait of Nakamura Utaemon
1984
Woodblock print
Onoe Baiko VII as Mokuzume 七世尾上梅幸の田熊娘藻女 / Bust portraits IV (Design 6) 第四期大首絵シリーズの６
October 1984
Woodblock print
Ichikawa Danjuro XII as Musashibo Benkei
Woodblock print on ganpi paper
TotalCount
1987
Woodblock print
Actor Bandō Tamasaburō V as Ochika
July 1987
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Bando Mitsugoro IX as Ukiyo Matahei
Woodblock print on ganpi paper with yellow mica
Nakamura Tomijuro as Tominomori Sukeemon
May 1987
Woodblock print
Nakamura Senjaku II as Osome in the play of Toribe-yama Shinju
1987
Woodblock print
Actor Nakamura Senjaku II as the Courtesan Osome
November 1987
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Actor Ichikawa Danjūrō XII as Umeōmaru
March 1988
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Ichikawa Danjuro XII as Umeomaru in the scene of Kurumabiki
1988
Woodblock print
Actor Nakamura Kichiemon ll as Benkei
February 1988
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Actor Ichikawa Danshirō IV as the Ferryman Tonbei
January 1988
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Nakamura Kichiemon ll as Benkei in the play
1988
Woodblock print
Ichikawa Danshiro IV as Tonbe in the play
1988
Woodblock print
Onoe Shoroku as Kudo Suketsune in the play
1989
Woodblock print
Actor Nakamura Utaemon VI as the Courtesan Chitose-dayū
March 1989
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper