Actor Holding a Tray

Toyokuni III was a Japanese print master working in Edo. He is commonly known as Kunisada/Toyokuni III because one of these two names always appears in his signature: Kunisada from 1807 and Toyokuni III from 1844–1845. He trained in the Utagawa school, the most famous of the period in Japan. Most 19th century Japanese woodblock print artists were attached to this school, which not only trained pupils but also constituted a group or movement. The Utagawa school was itself part of the Edo-era (1603–1868) Japanese art movement ukiyo-e, meaning “pictures of the floating world”, of which woodblock prints were a significant part. Toyokuni III produced numerous illustrations for books as well as portraits of late-Edo-era actors and women, earning public admiration and reflecting the customs and traditions of his time