Three samurai woodcuts from the Edo period

Three original ukiyo-e woodcuts from the Edo period. 1) The first of the woodcuts, by Yoshitora Utagawa, is from the series "Go fudoki eiyu den," which means "Tales of Heroes of Olden Times." The series aims to commemorate heroes associated with the period of feudal wars and key battles in Japanese history. 2) Less is known about the second woodcut. It may depict a scene from Japanese kabuki theater or everyday life in Japan of the Edo period. 3) The last one, by the master Kuniyoshi Utagawa, is unusual in that it depicts a type of now-lost art, the memory of which has survived to our time through Utagawa's prints, among others. The term iki- ningyō literally means "living dolls." In the city of Edo (now Tokyo), a popular form of street entertainment was the reconstruction of motifs from legends or history using realistic, full-size dolls - the inanimate equivalent of the European tableau vivant of the same period. No. 1: dimension including frame: 35x29 cm; dimension of the woodcut itself 22.5 x 17 cm
Author: Yoshitora Utagawa
Dating: 19th century.
No. 2: dimension including frame: 43 x 33 cm; dimension of the woodcut itself 28 x 19 cm
Author: unknown
Dating: 19th century
No. 3: dimension including frame: 33.5 x 46.3 cm, dimensions of the woodcut itself: 22 x 35 cm
Author: Kuniyoshi Utagawa
Dating: 19th century.