Keywords
Art History
Painting
Lit. nail picture. A type of comic picture *giga 戯画 which Utagawa Kuniyoshi 歌川国芳 (1797-1861) is said to have devised by carving a block of wood with a nail. The result is rough and light-hearted, with his comments and seals carved in the same manner. Among the better known are his actor likeness portraits such as the set of three large colored prints entitled Hakumenshō-kabe-no-mudagaki 白面笑壁のむだ書. His pupil Utagawa Kunichika 歌川国周 (1835-1900) also produced kugi-e.