Kyosai rakuga
- Date:
- 1881
- Medium:
- Woodblock printed books, two volumes
- Format:
- Oban
- Source:
- Art Institute of Chicago
Description
A two-volume woodblock-printed book collecting some of Kyosai's most exuberant sketches and caricatures, published in 1881 under the title "Kyosai's Idle Drawings." The books showcase Kyosai's extraordinary range — demons, birds, comic figures, beautiful women, animals, and mythological scenes tumble across the pages in a riotous display of draftsmanship. The rakuga (idle drawing) format gave Kyosai license to experiment freely, and these volumes remain among the most vivid records of his improvisational genius.
More Prints by Kawanabe Kyosai
Tenpôzan in Osaka: Viewing Children's Sumo (Naniwa Tenpôzan kodomo sumô shôran), from the series Scenes of Famous Places along the Tôkaidô Road (Tôkaidô meisho fûkei), also known as the Processional Tôkaidô (Gyôretsu Tôkaidô), here called Tôkaidô
1863
Woodblock print
Kyosai, Royal Academy, London, FREE DOMESTIC SHIPPING
2022
Original Museum Lithographic Exhibition Poster
from the series One Hundred Pictures by Kyôsai (Kyôsai hyakuzu)
Woodblock print
Old Picture of the Rashômon Gate (Rashômon no ko zu), from the series Scenes of Famous Places along the Tôkaidô Road (Tôkaidô meisho fûkei), also known as the Processional Tôkaidô (Gyôretsu Tôkaidô), here called Tôkaidô meisho tsuzuki
Woodblock print
More Figures Prints
Frequently Asked Questions
Kyosai rakuga was created by Kawanabe Kyosai (河鍋暁斎) in 1881.
Kyosai rakuga depicts figures, daily life, and animals.