Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1798–1861) is one of the most creative print designers of the Edo period (1603-1868) in Japan. He is known for his imaginative responses to the censorship restrictions imposed by the military government at the time, which prohibited artists from depicting certain popular subjects in commercial works. Developing new genres and drawing on a wide variety of sources from folk painting to imported Dutch medical texts, Kuniyoshi created bizarre monstrous figures that led to his being investigated by the authorities as a potentially subversive agent. Kit Brooks, curator of Asian art at the Princeton University Art Museum, explores Kuniyoshi’s works and why they are so striking and memorable.
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