Kunisada's Tōkaidō : riddles in Japanese woodblock prints /

Another triumph for Marks (Minneapolis Institute of Arts), this book examines a large body of prints by Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865) that focus on a complex theme: the relationship between portraits of well-known Kabuki actors and beauties and scenes from Hokusai's and Hiroshige's famous series on the 53 Stations on the Tkaid, published between 1810 and 1856. With typical German thoroughness, Marks presents tables of categories, detailed descriptions, and lavish illustrations of the Binjin series, the Chuban Beauties series, and numerous series of actor prints, all of which incorporate background scenes from the Tkaid prints. Most remarkable is the author's analysis of the "carefully devised and often cryptic connections that require a detailed knowledge of Kabuki theatre to decode." This work of intensive research is divided into "Utagawa Kunisada's Life and Serial Works"; "The Tkaid Theme"; "Kunisada's Tkaid Series"; "Methodology behind Station-Character Motif Scenes in Kunisada's Actor Tkaid Series"; an epilogue; and two invaluable appendixes: "Illustrated Checklist of Tkaid Series," and "List of Tkaid Series in Japanese." This combination of approaches sheds considerable new light on the work of Kunisada, who was one of the most prolific and popular print makers of the Edo period. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above. S. C. Scott McDaniel College