Utagawa Fusatane (active ca. 1854-1888), Iris Garden, 1860

color woodcut, ink, paper, 37x25.5 cm, artist's signature

Utagawa Fusatane (active 1854-1889) was a student of Utagawa Sadafusa (1825-1850). His original name was Murai Seima. The dates of his birth and death are unknown. Sources give different dates for his active periods, with the earliest date 1849 and the latest 1889. The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston lists 1854-1888 as Fusatane's active period.

Fusatane created fukeiga (paintings of landscapes), bijin-ga (paintings of beautiful women) and fūzokuga (paintings of manners and customs), including the subject of kaika-e (paintings of the modernization of Japan). His bijin reflect the drawing style of Utagawa Kunisada and Sadafusa, while his landscapes were heavily influenced by Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858). In his best works, Fusatane was able to rise above mediocrity, as in a series of uchiwa-e titled Complete Famous Places of Former Times(Kodai meisho soroi, ca. 1847-52), featuring half-length portraits of beauties posed before Hiroshige-style views.