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- feudal Tokugawa government, the great excitement at Japan�s opening up to the West and the advance of commercialism. Through neglect, the old art of making fine quality fibrous paper that was soft, absorbent and durable appears to have been lost. Around the time of the reinstatement of the Emperor Meiji in 1868, ukiyo-e received another crippling blow from the replacement of traditional vegetable colours with aniline dyes of Euro�pean manufacture. Aniline dyes prompted experiments with new, garish colour combi�nations. Prints that combined red and purple were popular in the 1870�s and 1880�s. Kunisada�s pupil Kunichika (1835-1900) [48] used the new colours in his actor prints, some of which were interesting but rather gaudy. Kunichika�s student Chikanobu (1838-1912) [49] made extremely colourful bijin-ga as well as interesting prints of the foreign aristocracy in European dress.
Ukiyo-e also suffered from the introduction of photographs and lithographs to Japan. In the late nineteenth century Kiyochika (1847-1915) studied photography and oil painting from Charles Wirgman and tried to incorporate Western principles of lighting and depth into ukiyo-e prints. He was the most characteristic figure of his time, and his landscapes inspired by his Tokyo surroundings, were his strongest work. Some critics feel that Kiyochika�s death in 1915 marked the end of the ukiyo-e tradition, while others feel he was Japan�s first modern print artist. Kiyochika had two notable disciples, Ryuson and Yasuji.
During the Sino-Japanese War (1894-95) and the Russo-Japanese War (1904-05) ukiyo-e artists made a type of print called senso-e, or war pictures. They provided the Japanese people with pictorial information about the wars and glorified Japan�s military successes. Senso-e were usually printed as triptychs. The artists, such as Kiyochika, Gekko, Kunimatsu and Kokunimasa [50], usually did not visit the front but relied on hearsay for their information. By the early part of the twentieth century, these prints were superseded by newspaper photo�graphs.
The history of the ukiyo-e tradition in Japan shows how the legacy of printmaking was passed on from one generation of teachers and students to another. Students usually took the last part of the master�s name as the
tampes de Kunisada les poses et les expres�sions de ses personnages sont d�un exag�r� outr�, et le coloris si souvent criard que l�effet en est de mauvais go�t, m�me n�vrotique. Certains critiques estiment que les estampes de Kunisada sont d�cadentes et manquent de gr�ce. A cet �gard, elles refl�tent peut-�tre le manque de stabilit� de son �poque.
En 1844, Kunisada commen�ait � signer ses estampes du nom de son ma�tre, Toyokuni. Bien que Kunisada ait voulu � tout prix se faire conna�tre sous le nom de Toyokuni II, les historiens reconnaissent g�n�ralement le fils adoptif de Toyokuni, Toyoshige (1777-1835) [11] comme le l�gataire l�gitime du titre. D�habitude, Kunisada est appel� Toyokuni III.
Apr�s la mort de Kunisada, son beau-fils Kunimasa a adopt� le titre de Kunisada II (1823-1880) [29] et a r�alis� certaines es�tampes honn�tes d�acteurs. Un des �l�ves de Kunisada II a adopt� le titre de Kunisada III (1848-1920) [30], mais son oeuvre est peu distingu�e. Parmi les autres disciples de Kunisada, le meilleur est Sadahide (1807- 1873) [45], qui a produit quelques estampes d�assez bonne qualit�.
Les estampes historiques �taient le point fort de l�autre �l�ve c�l�bre de Toyokuni, Kuni- yoshi (1798-1861) [32, IV]. Kuniyoshi a produit d�excellentes estampes de jolies dames et de paysages, mais il s�est immortalis� par ses grandes oeuvres �piques dont les sujets sont les batailles militaires, les guerriers samourai, les intrigues de la cour, et les histoires de fant�mes. Bien qu�il soit port� sur des angles de vision �tranges, des compositions encom�br�es et un coloris criard, ses estampes sont si puissantes qu�elles sont enti�rement satisfaisantes. L�imagination d�bordante de Kuniyoshi l�a amen� � produire des dessins satiriques et des caricatures animali�res et politiques, dont une lui a valu un ch�timent impos� par le gouvernement f�odal. Kuniyoshi aimait �galement faire figurer des hommes couverts de tatouages dans ses estampes. Ses images bizarres �taient tellement � la mode que certains jeunes hommes se faisaient tatouer le corps de ses motifs.
Kuniyoshi �tait un artiste prolifique qui a produit des dizaines de milliers d�estampes. Pendant un temps, il a �tudi� les estampes hollandaises et cette influence se fait sentir dans son oeuvre. Il compte parmi ses �l�ves
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