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Okumura Masanobu (1686 – 13 March 1764) was a Japanese print designer, book publisher, and painter. He also illustrated novelettes and in his early years wrote some fiction.<br/><br/> At first his work adhered to the Torii school, but later drifted beyond that. He is a figure in the formative era of ukiyo-e doing early works on actors and <i>bijin-ga</i> ('pictures of beautiful women').
The Namazu, also called the Onamazu, is a creature in Japanese mythology and folktales. The Namazu is a gigantic catfish said to cause earthquakes and tremors. Living in the mud under the Japanese isles, the Namazu is guarded by the protector god Kashima, who restrains the catfish using the <i>kaname-ishi</i> rock. Whenever Kashima lets his guard down, Namazu thrashes about and causes violent earthquakes.<br/><br/> The Namazu rose to new fame and popularity after the Ansei great earthquakes that happened near Edo in 1855. This lead to the Namazu being worshipped as a god of world rectification (<i>yonaoshi daimyojin</i>), sent by the gods to correct some of the imbalances in the world.<br/><br/> Catfish woodblock prints known as <i>namazu-e</i> became their own popular genre within days of the earthquake. They were usually unsigned and often depicted scenes of a namazu or many namazu atoning for their deeds. They were quickly squashed by the Tokugawa Shogunate, the prints censored and destroyed, with only a handful surviving to this day.
The Namazu, also called the Onamazu, is a creature in Japanese mythology and folktales. The Namazu is a gigantic catfish said to cause earthquakes and tremors. Living in the mud under the Japanese isles, the Namazu is guarded by the protector god Kashima, who restrains the catfish using the <i>kaname-ishi</i> rock. Whenever Kashima lets his guard down, Namazu thrashes about and causes violent earthquakes.<br/><br/> The Namazu rose to new fame and popularity after the Ansei great earthquakes that happened near Edo in 1855. This lead to the Namazu being worshipped as a god of world rectification (<i>yonaoshi daimyojin</i>), sent by the gods to correct some of the imbalances in the world.<br/><br/> Catfish woodblock prints known as <i>namazu-e</i> became their own popular genre within days of the earthquake. They were usually unsigned and often depicted scenes of a namazu or many namazu atoning for their deeds. They were quickly squashed by the Tokugawa Shogunate, the prints censored and destroyed, with only a handful surviving to this day.
The Namazu, also called the Onamazu, is a creature in Japanese mythology and folktales. The Namazu is a gigantic catfish said to cause earthquakes and tremors. Living in the mud under the Japanese isles, the Namazu is guarded by the protector god Kashima, who restrains the catfish using the <i>kaname-ishi</i> rock. Whenever Kashima lets his guard down, Namazu thrashes about and causes violent earthquakes.<br/><br/> The Namazu rose to new fame and popularity after the Ansei great earthquakes that happened near Edo in 1855. This led to the Namazu being worshipped as a god of world rectification (<i>yonaoshi daimyojin</i>), sent by the gods to correct some of the imbalances in the world.<br/><br/> Catfish woodblock prints known as <i>namazu-e</i> became their own popular genre within days of the earthquake. They were usually unsigned and often depicted scenes of a namazu or many namazu atoning for their deeds. They were quickly squashed by the Tokugawa Shogunate, the prints censored and destroyed, with only a handful surviving to this day.
Utagawa Yoshitaki ( April 13, 1841 – June 28, 1899), also known as Ichiyosai Yoshitaki, was a designer of ukiyo-e style Japanese woodblock prints. He was active in both Edo (Tokyo) and Osaka and was also a painter and newspaper illustrator.<br/><br/> Yoshitaki was a student of Utagawa Yoshiume (1819–1879). He became the most prolific designer of woodblock prints in Osaka from the 1860s to the 1880s, producing more than 1,200 different prints, almost all of kabuki actors.
Sadanobu's small landscapes of Kyoto and Osaka were produced very much with the Edo artist Hiroshige's in mind. Indeed, he also did miniature copies of some of Hiroshige's most famous designs.<br/><br/> Although this series shows famous places in Kyoto, single-sheet colour prints were not, as a rule, published in the capital. Almost all landscape views of the Kansai region were published in Osaka.
Utagawa Kunisada II (歌川国定)(1823–1880) was a Japanese ukiyo-e printmaker, one of three to take the name 'Utagawa Kunisada'.<br/><br/>A pupil of Utagawa Kunisada I, he signed much of his early work 'Baidō Kunimasa III'. He took the name Kunisada after marrying his master's eldest daughter in 1846. He changed his name once more following his master's death, to Toyokuni III. However, since there were three artists called Toyokuni before him, Kunisada II is confusingly often known as Toyokuni IV.<br/><br/>Kunisada II is renowned for his prints. His favourite subjects were pleasure-houses and tea ceremonies. These themes are sometimes found together in some of his prints, as geishas usually acted as chaperones at tea-houses.
Yoshiwara (吉原) was a famous Akasen district (red-light district) in Edo, present-day Tōkyō, Japan.<br/><br/> In the early 17th century, there was widespread male and female prostitution throughout the cities of Kyoto, Edo, and Osaka. To counter this, an order of Tokugawa Hidetada of the Tokugawa shogunate restricted prostitution to designated city districts. These districts were Shimabara for Kyōto (1640), Shinmachi for Ōsaka (1624–1644) and Yoshiwara for Edo (1617). The main reason for establishing these nightless cities was the Tokugawa shogunate's trying to prevent the nouveau riche chōnin (townsmen) from political intrigue.<br/><br/> People involved in mizu shōbai (水商売?) 'water trade' would include hōkan (comedians), kabuki (popular theatre of the time), dancers, dandies, rakes, tea-shop girls, Kanō (painters of the official school of painting), courtesans who resided in seirō (green houses) and geisha in their okiya houses.<br/><br/> The courtesans would consist of yūjo (women of pleasure/prostitutes), kamuro (young female students), shinzō (senior female students), hashi-jōro (lower-ranking courtesans), kōshi-jōro (high-ranking courtesans just below tayū), tayū (high-ranking courtesans), oiran ('castle-topplers', named that way for how quickly they could part a daimyō (lord) from his money), yarite (older chaperones for an oiran), and the yobidashi who replaced the tayū when they were priced out of the market.<br/><br/> In addition to courtesans, there were also geisha/geiko, maiko (apprentice geishas), otoko geisha (male geishas), danna (patrons of a geisha), and okasan (geisha teahouse managers). The lines between geisha and courtesans were sharply drawn, however - a geisha was never to be sexually involved with a customer, though there were exceptions.
Yoshiwara (吉原) was a famous Akasen district (red-light district) in Edo, present-day Tōkyō, Japan.<br/><br/> In the early 17th century, there was widespread male and female prostitution throughout the cities of Kyoto, Edo, and Osaka. To counter this, an order of Tokugawa Hidetada of the Tokugawa shogunate restricted prostitution to designated city districts. These districts were Shimabara for Kyōto (1640), Shinmachi for Ōsaka (1624–1644) and Yoshiwara for Edo (1617). The main reason for establishing these nightless cities was the Tokugawa shogunate's trying to prevent the nouveau riche chōnin (townsmen) from political intrigue.<br/><br/> People involved in mizu shōbai (水商売?) 'water trade' would include hōkan (comedians), kabuki (popular theatre of the time), dancers, dandies, rakes, tea-shop girls, Kanō (painters of the official school of painting), courtesans who resided in seirō (green houses) and geisha in their okiya houses.<br/><br/> The courtesans would consist of yūjo (women of pleasure/prostitutes), kamuro (young female students), shinzō (senior female students), hashi-jōro (lower-ranking courtesans), kōshi-jōro (high-ranking courtesans just below tayū), tayū (high-ranking courtesans), oiran ('castle-topplers', named that way for how quickly they could part a daimyō (lord) from his money), yarite (older chaperones for an oiran), and the yobidashi who replaced the tayū when they were priced out of the market.<br/><br/> In addition to courtesans, there were also geisha/geiko, maiko (apprentice geishas), otoko geisha (male geishas), danna (patrons of a geisha), and okasan (geisha teahouse managers). The lines between geisha and courtesans were sharply drawn, however - a geisha was never to be sexually involved with a customer, though there were exceptions.
At the beginning of the 20th century Malay Street, together with contiguous Hylam and Bencoolen Streets, was notorious for its Japanese karayuki-san brothels. The area was known to its Japanese residents as Suteretsu or 'street'. The Japanese prostitution industry began to wind down after World War I under pressure from the Japanese authorities. The area comprised many dilapidated two storey shop houses, the last of which were demolished in the early 1980s. Today the old street is incorporated within Bugis Junction, a pedestrian shopping mall made up of three streets - Malabar Street, Malay Street and Hylam Street. The streets are the first in Singapore to be air-conditioned and are thus commonly refered to as 'indoor streets'.
Hailam Street (Hainan Street) was named for its majority Hainanese Chinese population, but at the beginning of the 20th century it was also notorious for its Japanese karayuki-san brothels. The area was known to its Japanese residents as Chuo Dori or 'central street'. The Japanese prostitution industry began to wind down after World War I under pressure from the Japanese authorities. The area comprised many dilapidated two storey shop houses, the last of which were demolished in the early 1980s. Today the old street is incorporated within Bugis Junction, a pedestrian shopping mall made up of three streets - Malabar Street, Malay Street and Hylam Street. The streets are the first in Singapore to be air-conditioned and are thus commonly refered to as 'indoor streets'.
Zenkō-ji is a Buddhist temple located in Nagano, Japan. The temple was built in the 7th century. Nagano City, established in 1897, was originally a town built around the temple. Historically, the Zenkō-ji is perhaps most famous for its involvement in the battles between Uesugi Kenshin and Takeda Shingen in the 16th century, when it served as one of Kenshin's bases of operations. Currently, the Zenkō-ji is one of the last few remaining pilgrimage sites in Japan.
Atsuta is now a ward within the City of Nagoya, most famous as the site of the celebrated Atsuta Shrine.
Nagoya is the third-largest city and the fourth most populous urban area in Japan. Located on the Pacific coast in the Chūbu region of central Honshū, it is the capital of Aichi Prefecture and is one of Japan's major ports along with those of Tokyo, Osaka, Kobe, Yokohama, Chiba, and Moji. It is also the center of Japan's third largest metropolitan region, known as the Chūkyō Metropolitan Area. As of 2000, Chūkyō Metropolitan Area had 8.74 million people, of which 2.17 million lived in the city of Nagoya.
Ishikawa Toyonobu (石川 豊信, 1711 - July 1, 1785) was a Japanese ukiyo-e print artist. He is sometimes said to have been the same person as Nishimura Shigenobu, a contemporary ukiyo-e artist and student of Nishimura Shigenaga about whom very little is known.<br/><br/> A pupil of Nishimura Shigenaga, Toyonobu produced many monochrome 'lacquer prints' (urushi-e) which reflected the influence of Okumura Masanobu as well. Many of these were yakusha-e (actor prints) and bijinga (images of beautiful women), including images of standing courtesans, whose faces conveyed an impassivity typical of the works of the Kaigetsudō school.<br/><br/> Later in his career, Toyonobu became one of the leading producers of color prints, chiefly benizuri-e ('rose prints'), but stopped producing ukiyo-e shortly after Suzuki Harunobu pioneered the full-color print (nishiki-e) in 1765.