Original woodblock print - Paper - Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797-1861) - Extremely Proper 極かたい - From the series "Auspicious Desires on Land and Sea" 山海愛度図会 - Japan - 1852 (Kaei 5) "Sankai ai-do zue 山海愛度図会", "sankai aitai dzuwe山海愛たいづゑ", "-san kai medetai zue山海めで度図会", and "san kai ai-do zueさんかい愛度図会" (Sankai Mede Taizue) have "~ tai" at the end of the title. There are 62 series of works that introduce local products from all over the country. This series 62 series. This Ukiyo-e has a crease in the center and marks of several repairs. The signature is ‘ Ichiyuusai Kuniyoshi-e ‘ 一勇斎国芳画 See Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: https://collections.mfa.org/objects/217317 The son of silk dyer, little is known about Ukiyo-e artist Utagawa Kuniyoshi's early years, though he is said to have shown remarkable talent from a young age. At age 14 he was accepted to study woodblock printing under Utagawa Toyokuni I and would become one of his most successful students. In direct contrast to Hiroshige and Hokusai's peaceful views of a scenic Japan published in the 1830s and ‘40s, the following decades saw a rise in popular taste for the fierce, fearsome and fantastical in ukiyo-e, which Kuniyoshi embraced. In 1814, he left Toyokuni’s studio to pursue a career as an independent artist. Initially, he had little success, selling tatami mats in order to support himself. His fortunes changed in 1827 with his dramatic series 108 Heroes of the Suikoden, and from that point on, he became known for portrayals of famous samurai and legendary heroes. Kuniyoshi also worked in in other print genres, producing landscapes and bijin-ga (pictures of beautiful women).