3614367 Japan: \'A Scene of the Kabuki Stage\', Meiji Period woodblock triptych by Toyohara Chikanobu (1838-1912), 1885 by Chikanobu, Toyohara (1838-1912); (add.info.: Toyohara Chikanobu, better known to his contemporaries as Yoshu Chikanobu, was a prolific woodblock artist of Japan\'s Meiji period. His works capture the transition from the age of the samurai to Meiji modernity.- In 1875 (Meiji 8), he decided to try to make a living as an artist. He travelled to Tokyo. He found work as an artist for the Kaishin Shimbun. In addition, he produced nishiki-e artworks. In his younger days, he had studied the Kano school of painting; but his interest was drawn to ukiyo-e.- Like many ukiyo-e artists, Chikanobu turned his attention towards a great variety of subjects. His work ranged from Japanese mythology to depictions of the battlefields of his lifetime to women\'s fashions. As well as a number of the other artists of this period, he too portrayed kabuki actors in character, and is well-known for his impressions of the mie (formal pose) of kabuki productions.- Chikanobu was known as a master of bijinga, images of beautiful women, and for illustrating changes in women\'s fashion, including both traditional and Western clothing. His work illustrated the changes in coiffures and make-up across time. For example, in Chikanobu\'s images in Mirror of Ages (1897), the hair styles of the Tenmei era, 1781-1789 are distinguished from those of the Keio era, 1865-1867.); Pictures from History.