Natori shunsen biography

Natori, Shunsen (1886 - 1960) .
Shunsen Natori was a Japanese woodblock printer, considered by many to be the last master in the art of kabuki yakusha-e "actor pictures".
Natori Shunsen, born on February 7, 1886, in Tokyo, was originally named Yoshinosuke.

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Natori Shunsen - Ichikawa Sadanji II as Marubashi Chuya, from the series Supplement to the Collection of Shunsen Portraits

Natori Shunsen’s wood block portrait of Kabuki actor Ichikawa Sadanji II depicts him in his famous role as 17th-century samurai hero Marubashi Chuya and is from the series Supplement to the Collection of Shunsen Portraits by Natori Shunsen of 1931. The artist’s subject and presentation pay homage to Kabuki Theater, considerably one of the greatest artistic movements, and to Japanese heroes.

Natori Shunsen was born Natori Yoshinosuke in 1886. His development and training as a professional artist were heavily influenced by political changes of his day including the decline of the Meiji Period, the start of the Taishō Imperial Era, and the Shōwa Period during which he created this portrait of Ichikawa Sadanji II. He witnessed his nation’s push for modernization and was eighteen when Japan defeated Russia, surprising the world with its rapid industrialization and militarization. Yet there was little desire to supplant Japanese culture. One campaign pushed

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Natori Shunsen

Japanese woodblock printer

Shunsen Natori (名取春仙, Natori Shunsen, February 7, 1886 – March 30, 1960) was a Japanese woodblock printer, considered by many to be the last master in the art of kabukiyakusha-e "actor pictures".

Biography

He was born Natori Yoshinosuke, the fifth son of a silk merchant, in Yamanashi Prefecture. His family settled in Tokyo shortly after his birth, where he remained until his death in 1960.^[1]

From the age of eleven he studied with traditional Nihonga (Japanese-style) painter Kubota Beisen, and was given his artist's name "Shunsen". He subsequently studied at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts.^[1]

Natori Shunsen developed an interest in kabuki actor portraits while working as an illustrator for the newspaper Asahi Shimbun. During this time, he had the opportunity to meet the publisher Watanabe Shōzaburō, who was the primary force behind the shin-hanga movement.^[1]

In 1925, Natori and Watanabe worked together on a series of 36 actor portraits. This series contains some of Natori's finest k

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Natori Shunsen (名取春仙) (artist 1886 – 1960)

Biography:

"Natori Shunsen, 1886–1960 Son of a silk merchant, Natori Yoshinosuke was born just west of Tokyo, but his family moved to the city when he was still a boy. By age eleven he was studying painting with the nihonga (Japanese-style) painter Kubota Beisen (1852–1906), who gave him the name “Shunsen.” He finished his education at the Tokyo School of Fine Art. In 1909 he was hired as an illustrator for a Tokyo daily newspaper, the Asahi Shinbun. His job was to make illustrations of literary figures who were also often portrayed in the theater; this led to his interest in creating images of Kabuki actors—first in paintings and then in woodblock prints.