76 Yoshikazu Utagawa ? – 1870 The Strongman Saburō Yoshihisa Wrestling with a Bear

publisher: Aritaya Seiemon

This print depicts the legendary strongman Saburō Yoshihisa wrestling a bear and belongs to the early work of Utagawa Yoshikazu, a pupil of Utagawa Kuniyoshi. Unlike his master, Yoshikazu was a rather weak draftsman, his figures often stiff, disproportionate, and awkwardly modeled, reflecting naive attempts at realism. From the late 1840s he tried to emulate Kuniyoshi’s heroes and warriors, though without his dramatic flair or compositional balance — as seen here, where the struggling hero appears static and heavy rather than dynamic. Printed by the small publisher Aritaya Seiemon, the work also reflects lower production quality, with limited color and uneven registration. Nevertheless, it is collectible for its rarity and historical value, marking Yoshikazu’s early phase before he turned to Yokohama-e — scenes of Westerners, ships, trains, and foreign fashions after the opening of Yokohama in 1859. This print thus offers a revealing glimpse into the formative stage of Japan’s first painter of Western-themed subjects, before his later rise as a chronicler of modernization.