Yamauba as a Court Dancer with a Fan - Utagawa Kuniyoshi
Archival giclée
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Description
A striking woodblock print by Utagawa Kuniyoshi depicting the legendary mountain crone Yamauba, reimagined as an elegant court dancer.
This woodblock print by Utagawa Kuniyoshi depicts the legendary figure Yamauba, the mountain crone, reimagined as a court dancer. The work belongs to the series 'Sixty-nine Stations of the Kisokaido Road', a collaborative project between Kuniyoshi, Hiroshige, and Eisen. Kuniyoshi brings his characteristic flair for theatricality and narrative to this composition, moving away from the standard travelogue format of the series to focus on folklore.
The figure stands centrally, draped in a kimono featuring bold, stylised floral motifs. Her posture is poised, holding a folding fan that echoes the pattern of her garments. The background is a dark, atmospheric void, which serves to push the figure forward. A swirling mist, rendered in subtle grey tones, envelops her feet, suggesting her supernatural origins. In the upper left, a small cartouche contains a miniature view of the Motoyama station, providing a geographical anchor for the print.
Kuniyoshi uses a sophisticated colour palette, balancing the deep charcoal of the background with the saturated reds and blues of the kimono. The print demonstrates the technical precision of the Edo-period woodblock process, with clear registration of the multiple colour blocks. The inclusion of the red cartouche at the top right, containing the series title, and the artist's signature seal, are standard features of the genre. This piece captures the intersection of myth and travel, a common theme in Kuniyoshi's later career. It remains a clear example of his ability to blend traditional iconography with the aesthetic demands of the nineteenth-century print market.
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Because every print is made to order, we don't offer change-of-mind returns, refunds or exchanges. If your order arrives faulty, damaged or incorrect, we'll replace it free of charge — just contact us within 48 hours of delivery. See our refunds page for full details.
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Manufacturing
Each print is produced to order using 12-colour giclée printing on FSC-certified archival paper. Designed in Britain and printed at your nearest production hub to reduce waste and speed up delivery.
Care and materials
Specific Features
Every Solis piece is made to order with archival, gallery-quality materials built to last.
- Museum-grade giclée printing for rich, fade-resistant colour
- Archival matte fine-art paper, FSC-certified
- Multiple sizes and framing options available
- Frames in black, natural wood, dark wood or white
- Framed prints arrive ready to hang
Care & Cleaning
To keep your artwork looking its best:
- Dust gently with a soft, dry cloth
- Avoid prolonged direct sunlight
- Never use liquid cleaners on the print or canvas surface
- Keep in a dry, room-temperature space
- Handle prints with clean, dry hands
Materials & Sizing
Museum-grade giclée on FSC-certified archival matte paper, with framed and canvas options.
- Paper sizes: A4, A3, A2, A1, A0 and B2 (50×70 cm)
- Canvas: XS (20×30 cm) to Large (60×90 cm)
- Frames: black, natural wood, dark wood or white
Yamauba as a Court Dancer with a Fan - Utagawa Kuniyoshi
Artist Biography
Utagawa Kuniyoshi
For the first thirteen years he struggled. The breakthrough came in 1827 with a commission to illustrate the 108 Heroes of the Suikoden, a Chinese adventure novel. He drew tattooed warriors in dynamic poses that broke out of the frame, the tattoos rendered with a detail that started a fashion in Edo. The series was enormously popular and established him as the leading designer of warrior prints.
He loved cats. His studio was always full of them, and he often worked with a kitten tucked inside his kimono. When a cat died, he sent it to a nearby temple, and he kept a Buddhist altar for his deceased cats at home. Cats appear constantly in his prints: as substitute actors in kabuki scenes, as letter-forms in playful alphabets, as parodies of famous paintings. Government censorship in the 1840s prohibited the depiction of actors and courtesans by name, so Kuniyoshi gave them cat faces, which was technically legal and funnier.
His range was unusual for an ukiyo-e artist. Warriors, landscapes, beautiful women, ghosts, satirical cartoons, cats. He was equally comfortable with the heroic and the absurd, sometimes on the same sheet. His triptych of the giant skeleton spectre, from the tale of Takiyasha the Witch, is one of the most reproduced images in Japanese art.
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