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Japanese Ukiyo-e woodblock prints by Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III) - Japanese Ukiyo-e woodblock prints by Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III) Japan, Edo period, 1786-1865. Color woodblock print on washi (Japanese paper). Signed artist: Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865), sheet dimensions: approx. 24.5 x 36.5 cm. Framed under glass, dimensions: 46.5 x 33 cm. Artist's seal: toshidama-in. Condition: Slightly browned, slight color loss. The present print is the right part of a triptych depicting a scene from the drama Yume musubu cho ni torioi, performed in the third month of 1856 at the Ichimura Theater in Edo (modern-day Tokyo). Here, the courtesans Otora (right, played by Nakamura Tsuruzō I, 1809-1886) and Okoyo (left, played by Onoe Kikujiro II, 1814-1875) are depicted. Kunisada was a pupil of Utagawa Toyokuni. He is the most prolific artist in Japanese art, creating more than 40,000 works, including prints, books, and paintings. He devoted himself to all genres, but distinguished himself particularly through his prints for Kabuki theater, in which he revealed an extraordinary inventiveness.