Utagawa Kunisada III

Utagawa Kunisada III (1848-1920) was an ukiyo-e printmaker of the Utagawa school, known above all for yakusha-e, prints of kabuki actors. Born in Edo, present-day Tokyo, as Hidehisa Takenouchi, he matters because his work spans the end of the Edo period and the early Meiji era, when traditional printmaking existed alongside new subjects.

At the age of ten he began training under Utagawa Kunisada I and, after their master's death, continued under Kunisada II. He first signed his prints Kunimasa or Baidō Kunimasa. Around 1889 he began using Kunisada, in variants such as Baidō Kunisada or Kōchōrō Kunisada, and by 1892 he was signing as Hōsai in several forms. Later he also adopted the name Toyokuni V.

Beyond yakusha-e, he produced ehon (illustrated books), e-sugoroku (board-game prints), senso-e (war prints) and kaika-e, prints depicting the civilization and enlightenment of the Meiji era. His legacy is tied mainly to the continuation of the Utagawa school tradition during a period of profound change.