Utagawa Yoshifuji (歌川芳藤) (artist 1828 – 1887)

Alternate names: Ippōsai (gō 一鵬斎)
Utagawa Tōtarō (family name - 歌川藤太郎)
Nishimura (original family name - 西村)
Ichihōsai (gō - 一宝斎)

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Biography:

"A minor pupil of Utagawa Kuniyoshi, form whom he got the name Utagawa. Specialized in pictures of warriors and in so-called omocha-e (paintings of toys); the latter earned him the nickname Omocha Yoshifuji. Also illustrated children's books. Only a fair artist."

Quoted from A Dictionary of Japanese Artists... by Laurence Roberts, p. 201.

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Rebecca Salter in her Japanese Popular Prints... on page 18 gives a different take on the situation that Yoshifuji found himself in.

"A giant of the period, however, was Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797-861). Although best known for warrior prints which reflected the militaristic undercurrents of the time, he was also responsible for some of the most light-heartend and humorous works in this book. His followers in the Utagawa school, Utagawa Yoshitsuya (1822-66), Utagawa Yoshitora (ca. 1850s-70s), and Utagawa Yoshiiku (1833-1904) and Utagawa Yoshifuji (1828-87) all worked in woodblock's difficult declining years. An efficient commercial printing and publishing industry had been built on the popular appetite for topical images reflecting the times. The audience which had sustained the prints so effectively was declining, and Western printing methods were being introduced. But a living still had to be made by the remaining artists and craftsmen trained in the old technology. They were obliged to explore other avenues. Yoshifuji, for example, became well-known for omocha-e (toy prints), made very cheaply and sold to children. The standard of production was undeniably inferior to earlier prints, but this does not mean that these prints are not worthy of attention... They may have been made as throwaway items (and indeed few remain) but they demonstrate a visual sophistication reminiscent of earlier prints and can reveal subtle insights into the forces working to change Japanese society from within and without."