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Taira no Tadanori
by Kobayashi Kiyochika (1847-1915)

	Artist:	Kobayashi Kiyochika (1847-1915) — 小林清親
	Title:	Taira no Tadanori
	Series:
	Date of first edition?:	Not set
	Publisher (first edition)?:	Unknown — 不明
	Publisher (this edition)?:	Unknown — 不明
	Medium (first edition):	Woodblock
	Medium (this edition):	Woodblock
	Format (first edition):	Triptych
	Format (this edition):	Triptych
	DB artwork code:	42373
	Notes (first edition)?:
	Notes (this edition)?:	The following information was taken from the original web listing of this artwork. Note that there may be some inaccuracies: Tuesday, 27 July 2010 Original Kiyochika (1847 - 1915) Japanese Woodblock Print Inn-Flowers (Taira no Tadanori) Comments - An elegant and triptych by Kiyochika depicting the warrior Taira no Tadanori seated beneath a cherry tree. Brother to the head of the Taira clan, Tadanori was a general in the Genpei War fought against the Minamoto. He was killed in the Battle of Ichi-no-Tani. Upon his death, a poem was discovered in his quiver. It read: Were I, still traveling as night falls, to make a sheltering tree my inn, then would my host tonight be the blossoms themselves? A beautiful work by Kiyochika, imagining Tadanori at the moment of his composing this poem that would be his death poem, the paper and fallen blossoms before him on the ground. Note the incredible wood grain detail clearly visible in this print - an indicator of a sharp, early printing. Artist - Kiyochika (1847 - 1915) Image Size - 27 1/8" x 13 7/8" + margins as shown Condition - With stunning color and exquisite detail. One tiny wormhole in right panel repaired. Light ink drawings on reverse, not visible from the front. Please see photos for details. Excellent overall.
	Artist Bio:	Kobayashi Kiyochika (小林 清親, September 10, 1847 – November 28, 1915) was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist of the Meiji period. Kiyochika is best known for his prints of scenes around Tokyo which reflect the transformations of modernity. He has been described as 'the last important ukiyo-e master and the first noteworthy print artist of modern Japan... [or, perhaps] an anachronistic survival from an earlier age, a minor hero whose best efforts to adapt ukiyo-e to the new world of Meiji Japan were not quite enough'. The son of a government official, Kiyochika was heavily influenced by Western art, which he studied under Charles Wirgman. He also based a lot of his work on Western etchings, lithographs, and photographs which became widely available in Japan in the Meiji period. Kiyochika also studied Japanese art under the great artists Kawanabe Kyōsai and Shibata Zeshin. His woodblock prints stand apart from those of the earlier Edo period, incorporating not only Western styles but also Western subjects, as he depicted the introduction of such things as horse-drawn carriages, clock towers, and railroads to Tokyo. These show considerable influence from the landscapes of Hokusai and the work of Utagawa Kuniyoshi, but the Western influence is also unquestionable; these are much darker images on the whole, and share many features with Western lithographs and etchings of the time. These were produced primarily from 1876 to 1881; Kiyochika would continue to publish ukiyo-e prints for the rest of his life, but also worked extensively in illustrations and sketches for newspapers, magazines, and books. He also produced a number of prints depicting scenes from the Sino-Japanese War and Russo-Japanese War, collaborating with caption writer Koppi Dojin, penname of Nishimori Takeki (1861-1913), to contribute a number of illustrations to the propaganda series Nihon banzai hyakusen hyakushō ('Long live Japan: 100 victories, 100 laughs'). (from Wiki) 版画家。東京生。江戸本所御蔵屋敷の子。幼名は勝之助。画を志し、ワーグマン・河鍋暁斎・柴田是真に師事、浮世絵師として出発する。光線と影を取り入れた新様式の洋風版画は「光線画」の名で人気を博し、両国大火後は「清親ポンチ」と呼ばれる風刺画を『団団珍聞』などに描く。錦絵の衰退により肉筆画に移行した。大正４年（1915）歿、69才。