Toyokuni II | View of Oshima from Atami beach Eight Views of Scenic Spots

Utagawa Toyokuni II (Toyoshige) (1777-1835)

Toyoshige was born in 1777 and not a great deal is known about him, but he did cause something of a scandal in the Utagawa school. He stole a name, or so the legend goes.

He joined Toyokuni’s studio at age 1818, and had a specialty in actor prints and surimono, although his output was low.  He was adopted by the master in 1824. But a year later the master died, and that’s where the trouble began.

Toyoshige became Toyokuni II. But did the first Toyokuni bestow the name on him, or did he just take it for himself? No one knows. But Toyokuni’s most famous and successful student, Kunisada, was reportedly quite angry that he had to be Toyokuni III. But it was what it was.

Toyoshige was a perfectly competent print designer. But there is another interesting twist to his story. He completed only one series of landscapes – “Eight Famous Views of Kanagawa.” (I have also seen it listed as “Eight Famous Views” or “Eight Famous Views of Shrines.”) It is a masterpiece, a remarkable set of prints. Bold, with extraordinarily modern designs, it was published in the 1830s just as Hokusai and Hiroshige (also a member of the Utagawa school) were making landscapes popular.

The prints in this series are filled with wonderful touches. In “Wild Geese in Miho,” for example, he creates a magnificent and towering Mount Fuji – by notshowing the top of Fuji; instead, the snowy summit mixes with the clouds, but in our mind’s eye we see it. Extraordinary.

Toyoshige died soon after, in 1835, leaving us the mystery of why he only created one series of landscapes, but grateful that he did.