Toshikata learned woodblock printing from Yoshitoshi, then studied Maruyama-Shijo-style painting under Watanabe Shōtei. Toshikata's sentimental style of beauty was followed by one of his students, Kaburagi Kiyokata.
During the Meiji period the journal Bungei Kurabu (The Literary Club) emerged to revitalize the tradition of color woodblock prints as frontispiece illustrations (kuchi-e) for works of modern fiction. This print illustrates the popular romantic novel Surgery by Izumi Kyōka (1873–1939). A beautiful sick heroine is daydreaming that she and a handsome doctor are a couple. According to the novel, she eventually killed herself during her surgery conducted by the doctor.
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Title:Surgical Ward' (Gekashitsu) from Bugei Kurabu (Literary Club)
Artist:Mizuno Toshikata (Japanese, 1866–1908)
Period:Meiji period (1868–1912)
Date:ca. 1906
Culture:Japan
Medium:Frontispiece; woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Dimensions:Image: 8 1/2 x 11 1/4 in. (21.6 x 28.6 cm)
Classification:Prints
Credit Line:Gift of Lincoln Kirstein, 1959
Object Number:JP3292
Signature: ?Toshikata?; Seal: Toshikata
Lincoln Kirstein American, New York (until 1959; donated to MMA).
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Impressions of a New Civilization: The Lincoln Kirstein Collection of Japanese Prints, 1860–1912," May 20–September 7, 1986.
Santa Fe. New Mexico Museum of Art. "Impressions of a New Civilization: The Lincoln Kirstein Collection of Japanese Prints, 1860–1912," June 28–August 3, 1987.
Portland Art Museum. "Impressions of a New Civilization: The Lincoln Kirstein Collection of Japanese Prints, 1860–1912," August 28–October 4, 1987.
Billings. Yellowstone Art Museum. "Impressions of a New Civilization: The Lincoln Kirstein Collection of Japanese Prints, 1860–1912," October 31, 1987–January 3, 1988.
Santa Fe Community College Art Gallery. "Impressions of a New Civilization: The Lincoln Kirstein Collection of Japanese Prints, 1860–1912," February 13–March 20, 1988.
Albany Institute of History & Art. "Impressions of a New Civilization: The Lincoln Kirstein Collection of Japanese Prints, 1860–1912," April 16–July 17, 1988.
Minneapolis Institute of Arts. "Impressions of a New Civilization: The Lincoln Kirstein Collection of Japanese Prints, 1860–1912," August 6–November 6, 1988.
Charleston. Museum at Sunrise. "Impressions of a New Civilization: The Lincoln Kirstein Collection of Japanese Prints, 1860–1912," November 26, 1988–January 1, 1989.
Pullman. Washington State University. "Impressions of a New Civilization: The Lincoln Kirstein Collection of Japanese Prints, 1860–1912," January 21–February 26, 1989.
Champaign. Krannert Art Museum and Kinkead Pavilion, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. "Impressions of a New Civilization: The Lincoln Kirstein Collection of Japanese Prints, 1860–1912," March 11–April 23, 1989.
Saint Louis Art Museum. "Impressions of a New Civilization: The Lincoln Kirstein Collection of Japanese Prints, 1860–1912," March 13–June 18, 1989.
Syracuse. Everson Museum of Art. "Impressions of a New Civilization: The Lincoln Kirstein Collection of Japanese Prints, 1860–1912," July 8–August 13, 1989.
Storrs. William Benton Museum of Art, University of Connecticut. "Impressions of a New Civilization: The Lincoln Kirstein Collection of Japanese Prints, 1860–1912," September 2–October 15, 1989.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Japanese Mandalas: Emanations and Avatars," June 18–November 30, 2009.
Attributed to Mizuno Toshikata (Japanese, 1866–1908)
ca. 1894
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