Utagawa Kuniyoshi “Fishermen at Teppozu”, early 1830s. When you look at works of art that are very foreign to your experience, you naturally seek connection across the divide. Among modern civilisations, Japan provides an extreme example of this gap. Between the 17th century and the 1860s, it pursued a policy of almost complete isolation. Its [...]

The splendid new exhibition at the Royal Academy of 19th-century woodblock prints by Utagawa Kuniyoshi is dominated by scenes of heroic samurai warriors, fighting to the death, teeth bared and eyes bulging as they grapple with tigers and strange monsters or fend off the flying arrows or slashing swords of their enemies. The show is [...]