After a short holiday, I have just added this print by Toyokuni II. It is Sign of the ram [未] from The clothing of Zensei Matsu: The Twelve Signs of the Zodiac Zensei Matsu no Yosooi, jûni shi [全盛枩の粧十二支].
This is the first print by Toyokuni II in the collection. Utagawa Toyokuni II (1777–1835) was also known as Toyoshige. He was the pupil, son-in-law and adopted son of Toyokuni I. From the year after Toyokuni I died, Toyoshige [豊重] began signing his work Toyokuni [豊国]. By around 1835, Toyokuni II had died or stopped producing prints, and in 1844, Kunisada, another student of Toyokuni I, took the name “Toyokuni,” and became leader of the Utagawa school. He did not recognize Toyoshige’s claim to the name Toyokuni, and making the situation even more complicated, Kunisada initially called himself “Toyokuni II.” He is now known as Toyokuni III.
This is the first print by Toyokuni II in the collection. Utagawa Toyokuni II (1777–1835) was also known as Toyoshige. He was the pupil, son-in-law and adopted son of Toyokuni I. From the year after Toyokuni I died, Toyoshige [豊重] began signing his work Toyokuni [豊国]. By around 1835, Toyokuni II had died or stopped producing prints, and in 1844, Kunisada, another student of Toyokuni I, took the name “Toyokuni,” and became leader of the Utagawa school. He did not recognize Toyoshige’s claim to the name Toyokuni, and making the situation even more complicated, Kunisada initially called himself “Toyokuni II.” He is now known as Toyokuni III.