Echoes of Edo, Glimpses of Meiji

The Art of Mizuno Toshikata Mizuno Toshikata (1866–1908) was a leading name on the art scene of the Meiji era (1868–1912), especially for his prodigious output as a woodblock print designer but also for his noteworthy achievements as a Japanese-style painter.

Part of the first generation of Utagawa school artists formed after the end of the Edo period (1603–1868), his art weaved through the complexities of tradition and modernity in style and subject matter.

The artist left behind, despite a short life, an impressive body of work, ranging from colour woodblock prints and illustrations to frontispieces and paintings. Unfortunately, he shared the fate of other artists of his generation, gradually falling into undeserved oblivion, long ignored by art historians, curators and collectors.

However, things have begun to change recently. The year 2016 marked the first major exhibition dedicated to the artist, titled Mizuno Toshikata – Successor of Yoshitoshi, at the Ōta Memorial Museum of Art in Tokyo.

Echoes of Edo, Glimpses of Meiji: The Art of Mizuno Toshikata, hosted by the Manggha Museum of Japanese Art and Technology in Kraków, is not only a first in Europe, but also the largest exhibition of Toshikata’s colour woodblock prints ever held anywhere in the world. This endeavour is part of the recent efforts to bring the artist back to the public’s attention and also to contribute to a better appreciation of his artwork.

Mizuno Toshikata’s prints are emblematic of the mid- and late Meiji era. The artist embraced almost all the major genres of the time and is especially recognised as a master of historically themed prints (rekishi-e) and those depicting beautiful women (bijin-ga). He was equally noted for his compositions depicting the Sino-Japanese War (sensō-e), and also excelled in the area of illustration, being one of the most prolific designers of frontispieces (kuchi-e), an exceptional product of that period.

The artworks featured in the exhibition and this catalogue come entirely from private collections, with the vast majority being owned by Raymond Milewski, a retired biology professor and Vietnam War veteran, of Polish descent, living in the USA. His ardent passion for Japanese art has led him to amass a rare and impressive collection of paintings and prints from the Meiji era, in which the art of Mizuno Toshikata holds an important place.