Japanese Woodblock Print, 1893, from a group of prints published by the Mitsuo Clothing Store showing Japanese women in the latest fashions

SIZE IN INCHES: oban 14 x 9.75 inches

TOSHIKATA MIZUNO was born in 1866 in the Yamamoto-cho in the Kanda district of Tokyo to a plasterer's family. When he was about thirteen years old his father, Nonaka Kichigoro, sent him to study with Yoshitoshi, but his father removed him from Yoshitoshi's studio and sent him to a relative of his mother to earn his living as a painter of ceramics. In 1882, however, he returned to Yoshitoshi's studio. Yoshitoshi would give him the character toshi from his own name as the first character of his art name Toshikata and eventually designate him as his successor. Yoshitoshi is also said to have passed his artist seals along to Toshikata. He also apprenticed for a time with the ceramic painter Yamada Ryuto and studied traditional Japanese painting (nanga) with Shibata Hoshu and Watanabe Shotei (aka Watanabe Seitei, 1851-1918). In 1887, on Yoshitoshi's recommendation, he succeeded Yoshitoshi as the illustrator at the newspaper Yamato shimbun, where he achieved acclaim. He worked at the Yamato shimbum until 1894. During the Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895), he created a large body of work depicting battle scenes. His work is some of the best to be produced during that period.

He was active as a painter of genre and historical subjects, receiving awards of merit in 1898, 1899, 1900 and 1902 at the joint Japan Art Institute/Japan Painting Association (Nihon Bijutsuin/Nihon Kaiga Kyokai) exhibition and was active in the Japan Art Society (Nihon Bijutsu KyÅkai), and the Japan Painting Society (Nihon Kaiga KyÅkai) and the Academy of Japanese Art (Nippon Bijutsuin). As times became difficult for Japanese printmakers, with ukiyo-e printmaking falling out of style due to the introduction of photography and lithography, Toshikata turned toward the design of illustrations for novels (kuchi-e), literary journals, such as Bungei kurabu, Miyako no hana (Flower of the capital) and Shin shosetsu (New novel), and the design of fashion plates for department stores, such as the series Mitsukoshi: Brocades of the Capital (Mitsukoshi miyako no nishiki, 1905-6), which advertised Meiji fashions for the Mitsui Department Store. Toshikata published a number of series of bijin prints and genre scenes, featuring women and children, including print sets such as Thirty-six Types of Beauty (Sanjurokkasen), 1891, published by Kokkedio and Ancient Beauties (Kodai bijin). Sato Shotaro and Akiyama Buemon were two of his main publishers. After the turn of the century, Toshikata remained a well-known painter, printmaker and illustrator and is credited with raising the status of painters from the ukiyo-e lineage.

Toshikata's role as a teacher is significant. His students Kaburaki Kiyokata (1878-1972), Ikeda Terukata (1883-1921), and Ikeda Shoen (1888-1917) are known today as successful Nihonga bijinga painters and print designers. He also had a number of women students, including his wife, Mizuno Hidekata (nee Ichikawa), and Ikeda Shoen. He was demanding of his students and did not encourage freedom of expression. He died in April 1908 at age forty-two, reportedly from overwork.

VG, minor flaws as shown